Online Gambling Has the Biggest Share in UK Gambling Industry

Statistics show that online gambling has enjoyed steady growth in recent years.

UK Gambling Commission has published a comprehensive industry statistics, which for the first time includes annual statistical data for online gambling. It also includes data on GGY – Gross Gambling Yield by gambling sectors, the statistics on the number of employees in the industry and the data on social responsibility. The statistics showed a considerable growth in the share of online gambling, which makes up 33% of the total GGY (£4.5bn) accumulated through the gambling industry.

According to the official statistics published by the UK Gambling Commission the total GGY recorded in the gaming industry amounts to £13.6bn, 33% of which is acquired through online gambling. It translates into £4.5bn making online gambling the most profitable gambling sector leaving behind National Lottery with the yield of £3.4bn and betting with £3.3bn, while land-based casinos generated £1bn.

Online gaming sector has recorded an increase in comparison to last year when its share in the gambling market was 29%. Within the remote gaming sector the leading activities are online casino which generated 57.5% of the £4.5bn, followed by online betting with 35.1%. That leaves 7.4% consisting of online bingo games, betting exchange and pool betting. The biggest share of the online casino GGY was generated through online slots which accounted for 68.1%, while table games recorded a share of 15.6%. The rest of the GGY was generated through the card games.

This is the first detailed report that the Gaming Commission has drafted about online gambling, mostly owing to the new regulations introduced in 2014, which regulated the terms under which the operators will provide their services to British customers. Primarily, this regarded licensing and taxing systems, but it also provided a record of data on the gambling activities.

Other statistical data showed the fall in the number of employees in gambling industry and the decrease in the number of betting shops in the UK, as well as the decrease of gaming machines in the UK. As for the social responsibility National Lottery contributed £1.8bn to good causes while society lotteries raised around £208m which represents a significant increase in comparison to last year.