GAMBLING INSIDER

The UK’s gambling market achieved a gross gambling yield of £13.7bn during the period April 2016-March 2017, according to the latest figures released by the UK Gambling Commission.

This figure has increased year-on-year by 1.8% when compared to the same period in 2015/16.

Despite this growth, the number of employees working in the UK gambling industry has decreased by 1% to 106,236 while the number of betting shops in the UK has dropped by 3.9% to 8,502.

The number of bingo premises operating in the UK also dropped by 1.4% to 583, with the number of licensed arcades in the UK dropping 5.1% to 1,750.

Gross gambling yield in the online sector grew the largest during the period, rising year-on-year by 10.1% to £4.7bn, with online gambling’s market share rising to 34% of the total UK gambling market.

Contributions from the National Lottery to good causes dropped 16.9% during the period to £1.5bn, with charitable contributions from society lotteries dropping to £255.6m, a fall of 20.5%.

In a statement released with the figures, UK Gambling Commission Executive Director Tim Miller said: “These latest figures show that the gambling market is continuing to grow, particularly in the online sector.

“However, with such growth comes a great responsibility for operators to prevent gambling-related harm to all consumers and the public. We would urge all gambling businesses to be acutely aware that as their market grows so too will our focus on ensuring that consumers are protected.”