Online gambling operators holding a UK Gambling Commission (UKGC) license earned 22% more revenue in fiscal 2014, according to the regulator’s latest batch of market stats.
The report, which covers the period between April 1, 2013 and March 31, 2014, is the last before the introduction of the UK’s new regulatory scheme, in which all UK-facing operators must hold a UKGC license. The UKGC has previously estimated that its licensees accounted for just 15% of the total UK online market, so future reports should make for interesting reading and render year-on-year comparisons virtually meaningless.
Online gambling accounted for 17% of the UK’s total gross gambling yield (GGY), up from 13% in last year’s report. Online sites generated £1.14b in GGY, of which 86% (£932m) was derived from sports betting, up from 78% last year. Pools betting generated GGY of £93m, good enough for second place. Exchange betting claimed around £31m, nudging out casino at £30m while bingo added £4.6m.
Overall online betting turnover rose 30% to £25.4b, of which £10.2b was on football, which was up 31%. ‘Other’ sports turnover rose 40% to £7.2b, while tennis rose 30% to £5.2b and horseracing nudged up 5% to £2b. Online casino turnover fell 19% to £697m thanks to a 10% decline in slots, a 20% decline in card games and a 30% decline in table games. Pool betting gained 12.5% to £207m.
Land-based betting still accounts for the overwhelming majority of the UK’s overall gambling pie (excluding the National Lottery) with a 47% share, although that’s down from 51% last year. The surge in online activity relegated casinos to third place with 16% of the overall pie, followed by bingo (10%), arcades (6%) and large society lotteries (4%).
