The United Kingdom Online Gambling Sector Witnesses Its First Revenue Decline

December 14, 2019 0

Online Gambling Witnesses a Decline Says the UKGC

The United Kingdom Gambling Commission has stated that the higher stakes could not prevent the UK online gambling industry from witnessing its first-ever decline in revenue. According to the statistics that the UKGC released regarding the matter, the entire income from gambling in Britain dropped by 0.3% when compared to the same period of last year. It covers the year ending on the 31st of March. The total revenue figure stood at £14.36 billion. On the other hand, revenue from remote gambling declined by 0.6% to reach £5.3 billion.

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It seems that More Stakes Generate Less Money?

According to the statistics by the UKGC, there was a 2.7% increase in stakes. On the other hand, the yield resulting from remote gambling decreased by 10% to reach £2.3 billion. Online gambling formed a massive chunk of the gross gambling yield, with a total of 37.1%.

Football was the number-one sports betting destination for remote bettors. Even though the 2018 World Cup resulted in a 5.2% increase in bets, the total handle decreased by 1.5%. The total yield from football totaled to £991.2million. Following football came Horse Racing, with a total of £522.1 million. It represented a 15% increase, even though the wagers increased by 8.5% to reach £9.64bn.

An Eventful Year for the United Kingdom Online Gambling Sector

The United Kingdom's online gambling sector had quite an eventful year. The gambling tax revenue increase in the six months leading to the 30th of September increased. It was mainly because of the new RGD (Remote Gaming Duty). The new tax was able to mitigate the shifts that the new FOBT regulation caused.

Statistics also Show Some Positive Numbers Other than Online Gambling

Although land-based casinos, bingo gaming, and the National Lottery all suffered a decrease in revenue, growth was present in other gaming sectors. For example, the GGY from adult and gaming arcades increased by 3.2% and 1.8%, respectively. Also, Gambling Software had a profitable year in total. The industry brought in a total of £823 million in revenue, indicating a seven percent increase year-on-year.