A Report on the Contribution of Gaming and Betting Industry To The UK Economy

March 30, 2021 0

The gaming sector, including land-based and online casinos, generates around 4.5 billion pounds to the UK treasury. It also supports more than 110 0000 jobs in the United Kingdom. According to a report given by EY, the members of this sector contributed approximately 7.7 billion pounds to the United Kingdom economy in 2019. This contribution has happened when the UK plans to change betting and gaming laws.

According to the report, BCG members, which are betting shops, online casinos, and land-based casinos, employed about 61,000 people in 2019. Twenty-two thousand of these jobs were based in Scotland and Northern England. According to case studies, a great percentage of these 22,000 employees are from Stoke and Leeds cities. Fifteen thousand of all the casino employees are based in London. During the same year, the supply chains of betting shops, land-based casinos, and casinos also created 58,000 jobs.

A fifth of all the employees in the UK betting and gaming industry are below 25 years old. More than 50% of them are below 35 years old. Looking at these statics, it is clear that this industry is helping young people by providing them with entry-level jobs.

BCG members did not leave the sporting industry out. They contributed around 350 million pounds to horseracing through sponsorships, levy payments, and media rights. They also give the English football league clubs around 40 million pounds yearly. As if this is not enough, they give out over 2.5 million pounds for rugby leagues and around 10 million pounds for snooker and darts.

When this report was being compiled, UK was dealing with the difficulties posed by recent global events. It set up regulations that affected the gaming and betting industry, leading to the closure of 6 casinos and 374 betting shops in 2020. Around 5000 people lost their jobs as a result.

However, the BGC members are determined to continue supporting the gambling review and raise gambling standards. According to the BGC executive, Michael Dugher, the gaming and betting industry's economic contribution is more important during recent global events. This contribution is important because the event of the past year is causing a lot of economic fear and pressure on the UK's public finances.

Michael Dugher also said that the BCG is going to ensure that people practice safe gambling. He also said that BCG members are willing to support any changes in the UK gambling regulations. However, he warned the UK government not to put the gambling and gaming industry at risk as such might make it unable to provide more jobs in the future.