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Twice each year, the UK’s Gambling Commission releases its industry report, covering findings of average consumer spending, gross gambling revenues, the split between online and retail, and much more. On November 24, one of the leading authorities in global gambling licensing and regulation unveiled its newest figures for the gambling industry of Great Britain.
Here are some of the key insights of the latest UKGC report, including the rate of participation, increase in female gamblers, and massive online slots revenue increase over the last handful of years.
Participation down but gross gambling yield up online
One of the main findings of the November 2022 report from the UKGC was that UK gambling participation still hasn’t recovered to pre-2020 numbers. Overall participation and subsequent gross gambling yield held firm up until 2020, and in 2021, many expected the numbers to essentially return to the status quo.
Instead, rather than getting back to around 32 percent of the adult population partaking in some form of gambling under the rule of the UKGC, the 2021/22 findings saw a drop to 28 percent. However, the gross gambling yield hasn’t experienced a four percent decline, rather just a two percent downturn when comparing 2021/22 with 2019/2020.
With retail gambling still being rather prominent in the UK scene, it doesn’t come as a surprise that participation is down. This can be seen across retail sales as well, with The Guardian reporting a drop in quarterly retail sales, showing the worst in the August-October 2022 quarter since March 2021.
Throughout 2020, online consumerism became more and more normalized, with many sticking to the same more convenient and varied options that the internet can offer. Of course, retail shopping and retail betting haven’t been completely vanquished from either industry, but it’s clear that consumers are gradually favouring web browsers over stores.
Online continues to rise in prominence
Increasingly so, the online space for gambling is offering players a more realistic and competitive experience. Review platforms have become so numerous and filled with information that they’re now the go-to platforms for would-be gamblers. OnlineGambling.com ranks casinos based on a multitude of criteria but makes the decision a bit easier with links to bonuses and clear-cut pros and columns.
As well as websites vying for customers with what is now, mostly, fair bonus offers with easy-to-understand terms and conditions, they’re loaded with live casino table games and game shows. As was found throughout 2020, live streaming and live entertainment became all the rage. With such an incredible increase in this section of iGaming, online casino gaming is reflecting the real world. So, too, are the figure for online gambling.
According to the UKGC, the adult population is now split between 18 percent to 18 percent for those who gamble online to those who gamble in person. It was only in 2017 that twice as many gambled in person than online. Still, online is yet to hit the 2019 levels for in-person betting, which was 24.4 percent. It makes sense, especially as the BBC finds online time hit an average of three hours and 47 minutes per day in 2020.
Participation has been creeping back up in the online space. Male participation has reportedly remained fairly flat, but it jumped up among females. From September 2019 to 2022, female participation went from 13.2 percent of the adult population to 17.2 percent. This will have had a hand in the surge of online slots' gross gambling yield. From 2015/16 to 2021/22, slots increased in yield from £1.6 billion to £3 billion.
The UKGC has found that while gambling hasn’t returned to its 2019 levels, it is on the rise in several key areas, with the online sector set to grow further in the years to come.
- Payton O'Brien, Gambling911.com
