Despite concerns from operators and industry insiders about the effects of new regulations and the reduced maximum stake on fixed-odds betting terminals (FOBTs), gambling revenue in Great Britain has reached almost £14 billion according to a report from the UK Gambling Commission (UKGC).
The rise and rise
Total gross gambling yield (GGY) of the British gambling industry has risen 0.7% since the period from April 2016 – May 2017, amounting to £13.9 billion in the period October 2017 – September 2018.There are worries especially about the bingo industry, with many online sites struggling amid new regulations, and worries that land-based bingo venues are dwindling in popularity, but a 2% rise in bingo premises in the country since March (2017) takes the number to 649 and suggests there is still growth in that market.The remote gambling sector saw the most growth, with the total GGY for the sector raising 3.7% to £4.9 billion. This amounts to a 1% rise in market share for the remote betting, bingo, and casino sector, up to 35%.Sports betting shops have seen the opposite result, with the total number of shops now down to 8,532, a 3.2% decrease.
Jobs
An industry of this size is bound to employ a lot of people, and there are over 106,000 employees in land based casinos, betting shops, and bingo venues.The iGaming world is having an impact however, with total jobs down 0.8% since March 2017.The rise of the industry as a whole can also be heavily attributed to the immense and seemingly continuous rise of the online gambling world.With a huge number of operators and sites offering betting options of all kinds, often in one place, the ease of access appeals to the fast-moving modern person who expects everything immediately, and we can expect the growth to continue in the coming years