UK Gambling Market 2024

The United Kingdom has one of the most liberal gambling markets in the world. Since Tony Blair's Labour government introduced the Gambling Act in 2005, it has continued getting better. Yet, more recently, there has been a lot of talk about that act. Some have raised questions on whether it is appropriate for today's modern age or not. 

A couple of years ago, this led to the UK Gambling Commission deciding to review the act. It sought out opinions and suggestions on gambling legislation. Then, a white paper on gambling reform in the UK was set for publishing. Only it ended up suffering from delay after delay after delay. Still, to this day, that review of the act has not come to fruition.

Even with this being the case, the demand for gambling remains in the UK. Sports betting, casino gaming, bingo options, lotteries and more are active in the UK. As long as the companies providing such to British players hold a licence, they are usually safe. As it happens, there are many safe UK casinos operating throughout the country. That refers to both the online and offline worlds. So, what does the UK gambling scene look like in 2022 overall?

Industry Insights and Official Stats

The National Lottery remains the most popular form of gambling in the United Kingdom. Official figures suggest that in 2017, 8.6% of survey respondents bought tickets for it. By September 2021, that number had increased to 14% in total. Another 8% also bought tickets for another lottery as well. 

Sports betting is also a popular pastime in the UK, although wagers on it have remained at a level since 2017. An interesting point to make is that betting on horse races has increased. This went up from 1.8% to 2.6%. 

The gambling industry worldwide is growing at a constant rate. A large part of that being the case is due to online wagers. Analysts claim that the online gambling market may grow by $142.38 billion between 2021 and 2026. That equates to around £120 billion. Between 2021 and 2022, it grew by around 11.82%, meaning that it has the potential to reach such a large target. More and more new casino sites and sportsbooks keep popping up to help increase this. 

The top age group that gambled online the most between 2020 and 2021 were 45-54-year-olds. They represented a total of 32.8% of the people surveyed. 

Gambling and betting activities in the UK for 2022 have seen $14.7 billion (£12.45 billion) spent. The year isn't over yet, either. There has been a growth of 18.1% in the market, following a large decrease in 2021. It hasn't quite reached the highs of 2016 - 2020, though. At its peak, in 2018, the industry saw its market size reach $16.3 billion (£13.82 billion). 

Non-Remote Betting Decreases 

It’s a shame to say it, but people have taken to gambling online more than ever before. Much of that came about due to the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. Since then, many people have taken the decision to continue gambling online. This is great for the online market but not so much for the land-based sector. There are some UK online casinos which link up to land-based venues. Yet other physical establishments don't provide online sites for players to join. Thus, they are losing out on revenue from people choosing to gamble online instead. 

Recent reports from Rank Group Plc saw a profit warning issued. This came about due to below-par performances from its Grosvenor land-based casinos. Fewer visitor numbers have stunted casino revenue. With a cost-of-living crisis hitting the United Kingdom, people aren't able to afford it as much. Land-based casinos across the country are likely to take a hit in this respect. 

In October of 2022, the Commission published provisional stats for 2022 to 2023. This is related to betting and gaming receipts on a year-to-date basis from April to September. This included figures of an 11% increase to £1,619 million, marking a £164 million increase. 

The majority of receipts for the year will likely come from the lottery and online gaming. Receipts have decreased in both of those areas compared to last year, though. It is also the case that receipts in machine game duty, gaming duty and bingo have increased. This is despite the decline in footfall at venues providing such options. 

The variety of popular online casinos doesn't help with that footfall. One thing remains the case - gambling is still a favourite activity for many in the UK. Whether the white paper on gambling reform comes to light in due course is questionable. It has gone through so many delays that it could end up disappearing. Former Prime Minister Liz Truss had little interest in it during her 44-day rule. Meanwhile, the new PM, Rishi Sunak, has bigger fish to fry on his plate for the time being.