How Lucrative is the Gambling Market for the UK Government?

The United Kingdom has always had a close relationship with gambling. It is one of the most lucrative gambling sectors in the world and is home to some of the industry’s biggest players, including household names like Ladbrokes and William Hill. But it has come under intense scrutiny in recent years, with concerns over problem gambling and offshore gambling encouraging regulators to tighten the rules.

A couple of years ago, authorities outlawed credit card gambling. Changes to slot spin times and maximum bets followed and more changes are planned for late 2024. It begs the question, just how much money is the industry generating and are these regulations harming some of the country’s biggest companies, as well as the government’s coffers?

Online Gambling and Lotteries Are Driving the Market

Traditionally, UK punters placed their bets at the race track or one of the many high street betting shops. However, land-based gambling venues are decreasing. In 2014, there were 9,111 betting shops in the UK. By 2022, this number had dropped to 6,219. As for horse racing, off-course betting fell by nearly half from 2008 to 2022.

It’s all about the internet, and as offline gambling drops, online gambling booms. Thanks to the efforts of sites like casinos.com, remote gambling generated over £6.5 billion between April 2022 and March 2023. £4 billion of this came from online casino games like slot machines, while a further £2.3 billion came from sports betting.

Bingo accounted for just £173m of this total. There are signs that online bingo is on the rise and some of the sector’s biggest sites have bingo offerings, but bingo is clearly not as lucrative as casino gaming.

For comparison, the total offline gambling revenue during the same period was just £2.5 billion.

As impressive as online gambling revenues are, they are not a patch on lotteries. The National Lottery accrued revenue of over £8.2 billion during this period, and while more than half of this was returned as prizes, it still leaves a substantial sum for organisers and communities. A further £943 million came from other lotteries, with about a quarter of that going back to ticket holders in the form of prizes.

Tax Income is Huge

According to the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR), gambling will generate around £3.5 billion in tax during the 2023/24 tax year. This equates to £124 per UK household and 0.1% of total national income.

A sizeable chunk of this money comes from the UK National Lottery, as well as scratch cards and instant lottery games. Other legal lotteries do not pay tax in the UK. Punters are not taxed on their winnings and taxes are not charged on bet slips, either (although this was the case in the past). However, sportsbooks are charged a general betting duty, which applies to profits made on all bets.

Online casinos, land-based casinos, commercial bingo venues, and providers of fixed online betting terminals also contribute to that £3.5 billion tax revenue.

Gambling is on the Rise

Despite tightening restrictions and the fact that operators are pulling out of the market (there were 400 fewer gambling licenses issued in 2018 than in 2022), the UK gambling sector is on the rise.

Consumers have an insatiable appetite for online gambling, sports betting, and lotteries, and most aspects of the industry are growing. The OBR notes that tax revenue in 2021 was more than twice what it was in 2001. And they predict that it will reach nearly £4 billion in 2028. There are concerns that changes in regulations will drive players to the black market, and that may already be happening. But Brits clearly have an insatiable appetite for gambling. And it’s not going away any time soon.

There are a few potential reasons for this:

· Gambling apps and websites mean that it has never been easier to place a wager.

· Betting and gaming receipts usually increase during times of financial difficulty.

· Casino games and betting software is more advanced than ever.

· Gambling companies are investing heavily in marketing to counteract regulatory changes.

· Major sporting leagues and events like the Premier League and World Cup are more popular than ever and drive interest in betting sites.

· Most sites now offer the full package (poker, bingo, casino games, betting), whereas single-product sites were more common a decade ago.

Summary: The State of the UK Gambling Sector

From April 2022 to March 2023, total gross gambling revenue exceeded £15 billion. As noted above, most of this came from lotteries and remote gambling, but land-based venues are still earning their share, and it’s creating a lot of tax income for the government. It’s not just about the tax, either. The industry also supports countless jobs, spends billions on marketing, and invests heavily in sport and entertainment.

Whether that convinces the government to stop their restrictions remains to be seen. But it’s clear that this is a very lucrative industry, and its absence would leave a notable hole in state finances.