UK Annual Report and Accounts for 2017-2018 Published

Anyone interested in looking back at the performance and progress of the UK Gambling Commission over the past year can now check the annual report and accounts for 2017-2018. Namely, the UK gambling authority has published the report a few days ago; in it readers can find the latest three-year strategy for creating a fairer and safer gambling environment for UK consumers.

As mentioned by the UKGC, the report’s highlights include a review of the online gambling market, setting out proposals to improve consumer protection as well as the focus on ensuring the National Lottery keeps maximizing contributions to good cause. Another key of interest is the continuous partnership the UKGC has with other regulators such as the Advertising Standards Authority and the Competitions and Markets Authority as these partnerships help the tackle issues related to misleading advertising and unfair terms.

£4.9b Total GGY of Remote Sector

This annual report and accounts for 2017-2018 offers lots of interesting information regarding the gambling industry in general, but also the remote sector too. Starting with some general figures, the report reveals that there are 152 casino and 8,532 betting shops in the UK. Users can play on 183,928 gaming machines and on 1,810 licensed arcades. Those that prefer bingo games can visit a total of 649 bingo premises.

Impressive figures relevel the total gross gambling yield of the UK gambling industry, but also of the remote sector; these respective figures are £13.9 billion and £4.9 billion. One cool detail is the £1.6 billion in contributions to good causes coming from the National Lottery. Additionally, readers can find out that the industry employs a total of 106,306 people.

Nearly 9.5 Million Gambled Online

In the overview of the gambling sector there are details regarding the consumers and their gambling habits. The figures show that approximately 23 million adults i.e. 45% of the adults in the UK gambled in the covered period. Out of those, nearly 9.5 million gambled online at one of the numerous UK online gambling sites.

When it comes to lotteries and betting, 14 million Brits bought at least one lottery ticket, whereas nearly 3 million did some betting on football matches. Additionally, the report sheds lights upon problem gambling. Therefore, it concludes that 2 million adults at the UK are at risk with around 430,000 being problem gamblers. It is good to find out that 1 in 10 online gamblers use financial limits to manage their gambling habits, while only 6% of gamblers have self-excluded.

In terms of delivery of core functions, a total of 2,800 operator accounts were managed by the UKGC licensing department. Moreover, a total of 1,030 operator assessments were done in the past year. When it comes to prospective operators, the authority has processed a total of 240 such license applications.

It is interesting to note that regardless of the massive fines issued by the UKGC and all the steps taken towards improving the experience offered to consumers, only 33% of people think that gambling is fair and can be trusted.