Pre-PoC yield in Britain up 27%, new figures show
Statistics from the British regulator show online GGY contributed 19% of total generated by gambling sector
Gross gaming yield (GGY) for operators licensed by Great Britain’s Gambling Commission rose 27% year-on year for the 12 months before Point of Consumption regulation kicked, provisional figures released by the regulator have shown.
Total online GGY for the year ended September 2014 totalled £1.35bn, an increase on the £1.06bn recorded during the previous 12 months, with the overwhelming majority derived from sports betting, which grew 35% to £1.19bn.
The rise meant that the remote gambling industry contributed 19% of total GGY for the gambling industry as a whole, excluding the National Lottery, up from 16% during the previous period.
The increase in sports betting yield was primarily driven by football betting, which recorded GGY of £671m and was 56% of total betting, while turnover amounted to £14.22bn of an overall £31.5bn.
During the same period casino GGY increased by 20% although remained a small part of the overall picture at just £30m, with many of the major online casino operators licensed off-shore.
On the eve of regulation 6,285 people were employed in the remote sector, up almost 8% in six months as firms prepared for the new licensed environment.
And the Commission also said there were 5.59 million active player accounts in the 12 months up to September 2014, up from 4.88 million in the period up to March 2014.
Future statistical reports will show markedly improved remote figures, however, with all British-facing operators licensed, or in the process of being licensed, by the Commission from 1 November.
During the reporting period, the Commission estimated that only 15% of remote gambling activity in Great Britain was conducted under a British licence, with the remainder channelled through operators holding permits granted by other jurisdictions.