During the Global Gaming Expo (G2E) held in Las Vegas this week, Tim Miller, Executive Director of the Gambling Commission, gave a speech about the recent changes in the British gambling markets.
Miller started out by stating: “Of course, it doesn’t matter what size your jurisdiction is or how well established it is, you’re always going to be affected by the trade winds from other parts of the world."
Then Miller delivered some statistics, starting out with the £14.1bn ($17.3bn) Gross Gambling Yield reported at the year to end of March 2022, which excluded the additional $10bn a year from lotteries.
By the time of the end of the year, March 2023, 44% of adults had reported taking part in some form of gambling activity within the previous four weeks.
Miller said: “Many things have changed in the world since Covid-19 first hit and gambling hasn’t been immune but the fact that these numbers are similar to where we were in early 2020 does tell a story in and of itself.”
He went on to explain that the UK markets are currently undergoing a major upheaval, with the Gambling Commission not only concluding the largest enforcement case in history within the last year but also breaking the record for the largest settlement - twice.
In total, the Gambling Commission completed 24 cases totalling over £60m in payments, compared to three operators paying out £1.7m in 2016/17.
“One leading operator recently told us from their own research that 9 out of 10 of the largest enforcement penalties worldwide and 85% of all enforcement action in gambling worldwide has been carried out by the British Gambling Commission” - Tim Miller, Gambling Commission Executive Director
One of the most recent cases concluded by the Gambling Commission was the suspension of In Touch Games, which was due to concerns regarding possible violations of the Gambling Act.
However, it wasn’t all about the fines and enforcement cases.
Miller also discussed how the Gambling Commission has been establishing a working relationship with both the North American Gaming Regulators Association (NAGRA) and the Gambling Regulators European Forum (GREF) for enhanced communication on regulatory issues.
He also emphasised that in the last year, there has been a 46% reduction in traffic from the UK to illegal gambling sites.
Finally, Miller concluded: "Gambling is a global industry with global operators.
"No regulator – regardless of their experience or scale can be the world police for this industry.
"But by working together and committing to collaboration, we can make sure we each achieve the safer, fairer and crime-free gambling that we want for our jurisdictions and for our consumers."
Miller spoke to the GI Huddle earlier his year, which can be seen here.
