Member Article

The State of the Online Gambling Industry in the UK

Gambling in the UK is highly regulated by the Gambling Commission, which awards the licenses and ensures the rules and regulations are adhered to. The strict licensing standards enforced by the £Gambling Commission are called License Conditions and Code of Practice (LCCP). There are three basic criteria under these rules that anyone applying for a license must comply with:

• Fair and open gambling must be offered.

• Children must not be allowed to take part in the gambling. Nor must they be harmed, exploited or used in any other way.

• Assistance programs must be offered to anyone with a gambling addiction or any other gambling problem.

Licenses are needed for all forms of gambling, including casinos, betting, bingo, arcades, lotteries, and online casinos. Anyone found breaching the rules and regulations could face heavy fines and risk having their license revoked.

The cost of the license depends on the type of gambling involved, whether it is online or in a physical building, and how many different games are available. It’s an annual fee that is non-refundable if the business ceases. ‘Genting Casino-Hurst Street’ – Elliot Brown via Flickr (CC BY 2.0) Only Using Trusted Gambling Sites

From a gambler’s point of view, it’s important to only play on trusted £gambling sites, especially if you play for real money online. £Online casino reviews will help to determine which sites these are. When you see such names as Calzone, Casino.com, LeoVegas, Ladbrokes, William Hill, BetFred, 888 and Mr Green gain favourable reviews with casino review sites, you know they must be getting something right. These are not the only casinos that come highly recommended. Different review sites take into account different aspects, and it depends what they are looking at as to which online casino they will consider to be the best. Such websites also help punters figure out the most attractive casino bonuses, which often include no-deposit offers. ‘Midnight Sonic Casino’ – Dominic Alves via Flickr (CC BY 2.0) The Growth Of The UK Gambling Industry

Between April 2016 and March 2017, the UK online gambling industry grew by 10.1 percent, with a gross gambling yield of £4.7 billion, according to £the latest figures reported by the UK Gambling Commission. The industry as a whole reached £13.7 billion for the same period. The amount of gambling that takes place online is creeping up year on year. For the period in question, there was an increase of 1.5 percent, taking the market share for online gambling to 34 percent.

The number of betting shops and bingo halls has reduced and there was also a reported drop in the number of licensed arcades. This is reflected in the number of employees in the UK gambling industry, which fell by 1 percent to 106,236. They also reported the amount given to good causes by the National lottery dropped to £1.5 billion, a reduction of 16.9 percent, while the amount donated from large society lotteries increased by 20.5 percent to £255.6 million.

The gambling market in the UK is continuing to grow, particularly in the online sector. With such growth comes responsibility, which is why more changes are being proposed to the licensing standards that will encourage operators to prevent gambling-related harm to consumers and members of the public. As this growth continues, so will the focus of the Gambling Commission in ensuring that all consumers are protected.

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Pierre Ojo .