The UK gambling regulatory body – the UK Gambling Commission (UKGC) – published the gambling industry statistics today, providing the latest details on every one of the sectors regulated by the watchdog. The statistics are gathered directly from licence holders through the latter regulatory returns.
Such data about the British gambling market is published in May and November every year. The latest statistics revealed by the UK Gambling Commission are for the period from April 2016 and March 2017 and include data about the online gambling services offered on the territory of the UK.
Tim Miller, the Executive Director of the watchdog, commented on the latest figures, saying that they prove that the British gambling sector continues to generate growth, especially in the online sector. Mr. Miller also explained that such industry increase also brings great responsibility with it, as gambling operators need to make sure that their customers and society as a whole are well-protected against possible negative effects related to gambling.
The UKGC’s Executive Director further shared that the British gambling regulatory body would urge all gambling operators to make sure they are well-aware of the fact that the UK Gambling Commission is to remain focused on customer protection, so they would have to do everything possible to make sure players are provided by safe, transparent and fair gambling environment.
Latest UK Gambling Industry Statistics
As revealed by the Commission, the total Gross Gambling Yield (GGY) of the British gambling sector in the period between April 2016 and March 2017 rose by 1.8% in comparison to the prior 12-month period, reaching £13.7 billion. The UK gambling regulator also revealed the Gross Gambling Yield for the online gambling sector in the period. According to the data released by the Commission, the remote gambling sector’s GGY in the UK posted a 10.1% increase compared to the prior 12-month period, reaching £4.7 billion.
The UKGC also said that the online sector of the country’s gambling industry had a market share estimated to 34%, which represented a 1.5% increase from the period between April 2015 and March 2016.
According to the Commission’s report, the number of people employed in the local gambling industry declined by 1% from March 2016 to 106,236. Furthermore, the betting shops’ number in the country also declined from figures registered in March 2017, with the registered drop being estimated to 3.9% to 8,502.
There was also a decline in the number of bingo premises and licensed arcades in the UK. The bingo premises based in Great Britain in September 2017 were 583, which was 1.4% down from their number in March 2017. On the other hand, the number of arcades in the country also fell by 5.1% from March 2017, reaching 1,750.
The Commission said that the casinos in the UK were 146 in September 2017. An 1.8% increase in the number of gaming machines in the country was registered in comparison from April 2015-March 2016, with them totalling 182,916.
The latest report of the UKGC for the British gambling industry also included some data regarding contributions made by the gambling market to good causes. The National Lottery’s contributions to good causes in the period between April 2016 and March 2017 amounted to £1.5 billion, with the figures representing a 16.9% decline from the prior-year period. On the other hand, large society lotteries’ donations made to UK good causes rose by 20.5%, reaching £255.6 million.
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