UK Gambling Regulator Releases New Performance Report

The gambling regulator in the UK, the Gambling Commission, released its latest annual report, outlining details regarding its performance under the leadership of its chairman, Marcus Boyle, and CEO, Andrew Rhodes. The latest report, encompasses the 2022/2023 financial year and uncovers strategic operational activities, as well as statistics regarding the gambling sector in the country.

Judging by the latest report, some 23.6 million adults across Great Britain spent money on gambling activities between April 2022 and March 2023. Participation in any gambling activity over the last four weeks was 44%. On the other hand, the online gambling participation rate for the year through March 2023 was 26%, lower than the 27% participation in in-person gambling.

Rate of Problem Gambling Remains Low

Problem gambling, amid the changes under the Gambling Act White Paper, was a topic that was discussed many times since the start of the year. Now, judging by the Commission’s latest report, the rate of problem gambling remains relatively low at 0.3%. The report estimates that between 160,000 and 340,000 adults are currently identified as problem gamblers based on the Problem Gambling Severity Index (PGSI), while between 270,000 and 480,000 are classified as at-risk gamblers.

Rhodes and Boyle spoke about problem gambling and explained that the 0.3% problem gambling rate remains “statistically stable.” Still, the report acknowledged that despite the low rate of problem gambling, hundreds of thousands of people are experiencing the negative effects of gambling.

The Gambling Sector Recovers from COVID

The Gambling Commission’s recently released report revealed that in 2022, there were more than 2,400 licensed gambling operators in Great Britain. It said that judging by the recent figures, the gambling sector in the country “has recovered from the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic” with total Gross Gambling Yield (GGY) for the gambling sector in the country hitting £14.1 billion ($17.7 billion) for 2021-2022. This result, compared to the GGY from 2020-2021, marked an increase of nearly 11%.

Further details revealed that GGY for the British online and remote gambling sector for 2021-2022 hit £6.4 billion ($8.1 billion). While this marked a 6.2% decrease when compared to the period between April 2020 and March 2021, it showed an increase of 12.4% when compared to the 2019-2020 figure.

In its recent report, the gambling regulator revealed that it has enforced action against 24 operators in the last year. Overall, the Commission has issued £60.1 million ($75.7 million) in sanctions such as fines, as well as regulatory settlements. Most notably, the gambling regulator issued a record £19.2 million ($23.67 million) sanction against William Hill, as well as a hefty £17 million ($21.4 million) fine against Entain.

Last Year: Demanding but Successful

The Commission’s CEO, Rhodes and chair, Boyle, commented: “After an immensely demanding but successful year, we would like to end by thanking everyone across the Commission for their professionalism and commitment to our strategic objectives and ambitions, which again has both bolstered our reputation as one of the world’s most respected regulators and established our position as a Great Place to Work.”

The duo acknowledged that the busiest years for the Commission are coming, amid the major changes planned for the gambling sector with the review of the Gambling Act. Finally, they said that the gambling regulator and the sector continue to collaborate to ensure that gambling is fair and safe for consumers.