The UK Gambling Commission (UKGC) has stated in its latest report that although the remote betting, bingo and casino sources remain steady, the commission has noted a decline in the number of land based shops currently operating on the national market.
The total gross gambling has increased in the UK in the period between October 2014 and September 2015. It has increased from €13.6 billion to €15.2 billion between April 2014 and march 2015.
The €4.3 billion growth generated by remote gambling represents 29% of the total figure and it is relatively steady figure. It is so because of the new consumption tax introduced in the UK. The number of betting shops open in the UK however, dropped by 1.9%, from 8.975 in March, to 8.809 in the recent period. The total number of arcades has also dropped by 11.1% to 1,721. There has been a noticeable drop in the number of B2 machines in betting shops and bingo premises. The number of B2 machines has declined by 0.5% and amount of bingo premises dropped by 10.1% to 599.
UKGC programme director James Green said: “Today we are publishing clear authoritative data on the gambling industry in Great Britain. For the first time the figures include almost a full year’s worth of data relating to online gambling operators - the market share of the online betting, bingo and casino sector is 29% and we’ll be interested to see how this varies over time. Offline we’re seeing changes; for instance, there’s been a reduction in the number of betting shops, arcades and bingo halls in the last two years. Market trends and consumer participation research are key to shaping the Commission’s regulatory policy to keep gambling in Britain safe for consumers, fair, and crime-free”.
At the same time, the UKGC has published a warning to all of the operators offering betting services on pre-recorded television programmes. The commission has informed that in order to uphold licensing objectives, such operators must associate risks of such services first. The statement was released as a reaction to several reports highlighting integrity issues for those operators.
In an open letter to operators, programme director for enforcement and intelligence at the UKGC, Richard Watson said that the reports “appear to have originated from the operators themselves who purport to have either over-exposed their liability or identified integrity concerns tenuously linked to the programme or event”. Watson also stated that such situation is “damaging” for both operators and broadcaster of the programmes.
He also added that: “In a world of social media and rapid communication, the outcome of these markets is likely to be known to an ever-expanding group of consumers before the result is formally announced. We therefore require operators of these markets to demonstrate a robust management of the associated risks in order to ensure they uphold the licensing objectives. As outlined in our statement of principles for licensing and regulation, amongst other things, we expect operating licence holders, those occupying senior positions within licensed operators and Personal Management Licence holders responsible for marketing to conduct their business with integrity, organise and control their affairs responsibly and effectively, and have adequate systems and controls to keep gambling fair and safe. If we become aware that these standards are not being met, we will commence licence reviews with a view to exercising our formal regulatory powers on both the operator and the Personal Management Licence”.
