United Kingdom Gambling Industry Worth £5.4 Billion
The United Kingdom Gambling Commission released figures for the Gross Gambling Yield (GGY) of the non-remote British commercial gambling industry, not including lotteries, and revealed that for the period of April 2014-March 2015, GGY was up 2% to more than £5.4 billion.
Sports betting makes up the bulk of the total £5.444 billion total, accounting for £3,249 billion, with casinos GGY exceeding £1 billion for the second consecutive year (£1.161 billion). Both GGY for sports betting and casinos increased compared to the same period in 2013, but both arcades and bingo saw drops in GGY to £371.66 million (from £377.46m and £672.39m respectively).
The National Lottery (both remote and non-remote) increased by £132.3 million to £3.232 billion while other lotteries also saw an increase in GGY to £361.62 million, their highest ever total.
| Gross Gambling Yield (£m) | Apr 10-Mar 11 | Apr 11-Mar 12 | Apr 12-Mar 13 | Apr 13-Mar 14 | Apr 14-Mar 15 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| None-remote sector | 4,772.33 | 4,964.06 | 5,220.07 | 5,331.94 | 5,444.40 |
| Arcades | 392.00 | 381.06 | 357.90 | 377.46 | 371.66 |
| Betting | 2,957.32 | 3,029.56 | 3,199.58 | 3,171.02 | 3,249.42 |
| Bingo | 625.58 | 680.64 | 701.18 | 672.39 | 662.28 |
| Casinos | 797.43 | 872.80 | 961.41 | 1,111.06 | 1,161.05 |
There’s a continuing steady decline in the number of people employed by the gambling industry in the UK and it hit a five-year low as of March 31, 2015. While 104,869 are still employed in the industry, it is almost 11,000 less than the 115,564 employees on March 31, 2011.
| Employees | As at 31 Mar 2011 | As at 31 Mar 2012 | As at 31 Mar 2013 | As at 31 Mar 2014 | As at 31 Mar 2015 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Betting | 55,411 | 55,882 | 55,234 | 52,461 | 50,809 |
| Bingo | 18,495 | 15,829 | 14,939 | 14,093 | 13,040 |
| Casino | 13,949 | 14,701 | 15,010 | 15,611 | 15,566 |
| Adult Gaming Centres | 9,697 | 10,295 | 9,667 | 9,983 | 9,216 |
| Family Entertainment Centres | 3,147 | 2,474 | 2,133 | 2,056 | 1,914 |
| Gaming machine technical | 7,673 | 7,604 | 7,306 | 6,882 | 6,372 |
| External lottery manager | 754 | 849 | 847 | 1,130 | 816 |
The betting industry in the UK is dominated by four main operators, with William Hill pipping Ladbrokes to the title of biggest (based on number of betting shops) by 146 betting shops. However, once Ladbrokes and Gala Coral Group complete their merger, the latter has 1,850 shops, the newly merged company will own 4,016 outlets compared to William Hill’s 2,313.
A total of 148 casinos operated up to March 31, 2015, with Rank Group owning 63 of those; Rank are the owners of the Grosvenor and G Casinos. Genting UK have 41 properties, London Clubs International nine casinos with other operators having a combined 35.
Since the passing of the Gambling (Licensing and Advertising) Act 2014, where remote gambling companies have to be licensed within the United Kingdom in order to offer their services to Britons, some 719 licenses have been awarded. The bulk of these, 233, are in the hands of gambling software providers, with 176 being handed out to casinos.
These figures suggest that the gambling industry is thriving in the UK and if the current trend continues, the UK gambling industries GGY could surpass £6 billion within the next five years.
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