UKGC statistics report that remote gambling remains resurgent

For the first time this year, The UK Gambling Commission (UKGC) has published its latest set of industry statistics, which aim to provide a snapshot of activity, market changes and trends across all gambling sectors.

The statistics, which detail the period from October 2016 to November 2017, reveal that the overall gross gambling yield throughout that time increased 0.7% from the period of Apr 2016 – Mar 2017 to £13.9bn.

In spite of this, the number of people employed in the industry reduced by 0.8%, something that will in no small part be down to the fact that the number of shops in the industry reduced by 3.2%. The knock on effect was felt throughout the retail industry as the number of gaming machines in the UK sector also reduced, something that will inevitably continue as the government has confirmed that the maximum stakes on fixed odds betting terminals will be cut to £2.

Furthermore, this set of statistics marked the first time that virtuals betting had been recorded as part of the data by the commission, with the product generating £169m in gross gambling yield for the period.

Remote gambling retained its status as the largest sector within the gambling industry, constituting for 35.2% of the overall market reporting a £4.9bn gross gambling yield.

Within the remote sector, casino games reported a £2.7bn yield, predominantly through slots games, whilst the remote betting totals of £2.0bn were heavily aided by football and horse betting markets.

On the other hand, the gross gambling yield of non-remote gambling decreased by £93.7m to £3.3bn, a figure that will be of concern to operators with a strong retail presence as the climate for non-remote betting could become tougher in coming years, due to impending regulations.

UKGC UK Gambling Statistics – Headline Findings

• £13.9bn total gross gambling yield (GGY) of the Great Britain gambling industry (0.7% increase from Apr 2016 – Mar 2017)
• £4.9bn total GGY for the online sector (3.7% increase from Apr 2016 – Mar 2017)
• 35% market share of the remote sector (1.0% increase from Apr 2016 – Mar 2017)
• 106,366 total number of employees in the Great Britain gambling industry (0.8% decrease from Mar 2017)
• 8,532 total number of betting shops in Great Britain (3.2% decrease from Mar 2017)
• 183,928 total number of gaming machines in Great Britain (0.7% decrease from Apr 2016 – Mar 2017) (excludes those requiring only a local authority permit)
• 649 total number of bingo premises in Great Britain (Mar 2018) (2.0% increase from Mar 2017)
• 152 total number of casino premises in Great Britain (Mar 2018) (2 more than Mar 2017)
• 1,810 total number of licensed arcades in Great Britain (Mar 2018) (3.5% decrease from Mar 2017).