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Online gambling is largest gambling sector in Britain 24/11/2016
Editor
• Online gambling accounts for 33% of all gambling in Britain, new figures released today reveal.

Gambling Commission industry statistics show that between April 2015 and March 2016 the online gambling operators generated a Gross Gambling Yield (GGY1) of £4.5billion.

This means online gambling is the largest gambling sector in Britain – over the same period £3.4billion was generated by the National Lottery, £3.3billion by the high street betting sector and £1billion by traditional casinos.

Of the £4.5billion generated online £2.6billion came from casino games, £1.6billion from betting, £152million from betting exchanges, £153million from bingo and £26million from pool betting. Online slot machine style games alone generated £1.8billion.

Other highlights of the report include:
 
  • Britain’s gambling industry generated a GGY of £13.6billion between April 2015 and March 2016
  • Between April 2015 and March 2016 the National Lottery contributed £1.8billion to good causes, representing a 7.2% increase on the previous year.
  • A total of £208m was raised for good causes through large society lotteries, representing a 10.5% increase on the previous year.
  • There are 8,709 betting shops in Britain as of September 2016, representing a 1.8% decrease from March 2015
  • The total number of gaming machines was 167,839, down 0.4% on the previous year
  • As of March 2016 there were 34,884 B2 gaming machines in Britain, down 0.9% on March 2015
  • There are 575 bingo premises in September 2016, down 4.3% on March 2016
  • 104,896 people were employed in Britain’s gambling industry, down 1.5% on the March 2015.
  • 148 Casinos in Great Britain
 
Note : A B2 Gaming machine (fruit machine or slot machine) can be placed in betting premises and tracks occupied by pool betting and Large Casino, Small Casino, Pre-2005 Act casino and Regional Casinos to a maximum of 4 per betting venue and varying numbers for casinos depending on size. The maximum stake is £100 and the maximum prize is £500.

Gambling Commission programme director James Green said: “Our latest statistics show that with the growth in online gambling the industry is increasingly taking a creative approach to using technology to engage consumers. As the online sector grows operators will also need to demonstrate that they are taking an equally innovative approach to ensuring gambling is safe for all online consumers.”

Following the introduction of the Gambling (Licensing and Advertising) Act on 1 November 2014, all operators trading with customers in Britain must be licensed by the Commission and therefore must provide figures for the remote consumer market. This edition of the industry statistics is the first time a full year’s worth of data has been captured.

The National Lottery and betting continue to represent two of the other largest sectors, with the National Lottery continuing a year-on-year market share increase since 2013 and achieving the highest return to good causes so far at £1.8bn.

Betting remains constant in both turnover and Gross Gambling Yield (GGY), currently totalling £3.3bn. Betting activities remained consistent with a slight decrease in off-course horseracing and compensating increase in off-course football betting. On-course racing continues to decline, now constituting £21.7m GGY. Pool betting has also fallen to £127.5m. Machines have increased their percentage share of betting GGY relative to over-thecounter GGY; currently representing 52.7% of the total. Total betting premises have decreased at a faster rate than previous years, from 8,867 to 8,709.

There has been a reverse in the previously increasing trend in casino games GGY, from £991m to £802m, led by low house wins in Punto Banco which has fallen from £195m to £23.28m, the lowest reported GGY to date. American roulette has also seen a slight decrease from £386.4m to £348.7m. Electronic gaming, a growth area within casinos, has seen a year-on-year increase and currently stands at £157.8m.