Since the UK is one of the countries with the most highly-developed and flourishing gambling industries, it makes sense that gambling operators go to the effort of penetrating it, and most importantly, staying relevant.
Yet, this is not to say that the country takes a lax stance on gambling and does not oversee the industry properly. It is just the other way around, and the UK is among the countries with the strictest rules when land-based and virtual gambling is concerned.
Yet, it might be increasingly challenging for operators to continue to accommodate Brits because the Government announced its intentions to review the gambling-related laws to ensure that they correspond to the digital age. Keep on reading to find out what legislative changes are on the agenda of the UK Government.
The Laws that Affect The UK Gambling Industry
The Gambling Act 2005 is the piece of legislation you need to pay closer attention to when you want to gain a better grasp of the UK gambling market because it determines whether gaming, participating in lotteries, and betting are legal.
When the Gambling Act was given the nod, it only covered brick-and-mortar gambling businesses. Things changed after the Gambling Licensing and Advertising Act was passed in 2014 as it made it a must for overseas operators to first apply for a license before they can start offering their services in the country. In this way, the gambling-related legislation of the country was brought in line with the requirements of the EU, and the so-called point-of-consumption regime was then adopted.
To guarantee transparency and fairness to players, the Gambling Commission of the UK has given a number of undertakings from 2017 onwards, and these have mainly to do with bonuses, deposits, and cashouts.
Something essential to take into account is that the Act does not affect Northern Ireland, where the Gaming Act 1968 is the one to determine the legality of the different forms of gambling.
The Booming UK Gambling Industry Figures and Facts
Gambling is deeply entrenched in UK society, and it turns out that Brits got the gambling bug a few centuries ago. The industry has seen rapid growth over the past few years, and the legislative changes make it possible for the market to explode, thus taking approximately £14.4 billion from residents of the country, which notches up over £200 per capita.
Needless to say, the liberalization of the market is what kicked off the gambling boom in the industry, and figures prove this beyond doubt. Based on the available data, the gross gambling yield in the UK has jumped to £14.22 billion in 2020 from just £8.44 back in 2011. What is interesting to point out, however, is that between 2010 and 2018, the gross gambling yield has always been on the rise. Still, when the figures for 2019 and 2020 are examined, the opposite tendency is observed.
Back in 2019, the GGY was £14.31 billion, and back in 2020, it shrank further, thus reaching £14.22 billion. As for the proportion of people who engage in gambling activities, statistics show that more than 32% of Brits take part in such activities weekly.
It is worth noting that remote gambling accounts for the greatest share of the market, and this happened after the legislative changes that took into effect back in 2014.
Fresh Gambling Restrictions in the UK
The gambling-related legislation of the country awaits a crucial review, and it was necessitated because of the growing concerns of experts for the harm online gambling has.
Problem gambling and the harm engaging in such activities might have are increasingly serious issues the UK Government addressed for the first time back in 2017. In an attempt to deal with the mounting problem, the Government came up with some fresh restrictions that should make online gambling safer and less intensive. First off, gambling on credit cards was made illegal after the Gambling Commission found out that approximately 22% of the online gamblers who use this payment method are problem gamblers.
Slots fans are greatly affected by the new rules because a speed-of-play limit was introduced, and it cannot be less than 2.5 seconds. Speaking of slots, we should also mention that features that speed up play are also forbidden.
The adoption of these changes was much-needed because slots turn out to have the biggest average losses per player. Reverse withdrawals also turn out to present a risk to gambling enthusiasts, which goes to explain why they were banned. The new provisions also state that gambling operators have to display the losses and wins of players all the time.
Raising the age limit for purchasing lottery tickets is also part of the series of curbs on gambling. Under the new rules, playing the National Lottery is now illegal for Brits who are under the age of 18.
One big test might come the way of gambling operators that provide their services on UK soil, and this is so because the Department of Digital, Culture, Media, and Sport announced a license fee cost increase. The increased fees for gambling operators will be put in effect on October the 1st, and the DCMS justified the build-up with the need to ensure that the gambling industry will not go out of hand. If you want to learn more about this topic, you can find the story here.
The DCMS has unveiled that the application, annual, and non-remote operating costs will all be increased, and will jump to 60%, 55%, and 15%, respectively.
This is a submitted article.
