Online Gambling Accounts For 33% of British Gambling
Figures released this week by the UK Gambling Commission (UKGC) reveal online gambling accounts for 33 percent of all gambling activity in Great Britain.
The UKGC study shows online gambling is the largest gambling sector in Britain, having generated Gross Gambling Yield (GGY) of £4.5 billion for the period April 2015 to March 2016. In comparison, the National Lottery generated £3.4 billion, high street betting, £3.3 billion, and £1 billion by traditional brick-and-mortar casinos.
GGY is the amount retained by operators after the payment of winnings but before the deduction of the costs of the operation
Online casino games generated £2.6 billion of the total £4.5 billion with sports betting accounting for £1.6 billion. Online slots are hugely popular having generated £1.8 billion, betting exchanges brought £152 million, playing bingo online amounted to £153 million and pool betting accounted for £26 million.
A staggering £13.6 billion was the Total Gross Gambling Yield across Great Britain, an increase of £2.6 billion from the period April 2014 to March 2015 when online gambling made up 29 percent of the GGY.
The substantial increase in GGY comes despite the number of industry employees falling 1.4 percent to 104,896. The number of betting shops decreased 1.8 percent to 8,709 and a the number of bingo halls also were reduced by 4.3 percent to 575.
Also falling in numbers are the gaming machines in betting shops around Britain. There are 167,839 gaming machines operating, down 0.4 percent from the previous reporting period. Revenues from these machine increased 1 percent to £2.5 billion.
“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," Gambling Commission Program Director James Green said. "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.”
Lead image and data courtesy of the UK Gambling Commission
