The same source points out that online sports betting revenue improved 17% to EUR 1.1 billion (GBP 879 million).
Online pool betting added revenue of EUR 136 million (GBP 108 million) whereas the casino vertical cumulated around EUR 38 million (GBP 30 million). As far as the bingo vertical is concerned, it recorded 20% increase to EUR 2.5 million (GBP 2 million). Both online gambling accounts and active accounts registered a rising trend and new player registrations jumped to 5.2 million, the highest level in the last 5 years.
The figures in question cover almost 15% of the actual UK online market because of the exclusion of UK punters wagering with websites like William Hill, Ladbrokes and other operators licensed in jurisdictions such as Gibraltar or the Isle of Man.
The Commission has advised operators to submit their UK license applications by midnight on September 16, 2014 after which a two-week dead period commences. Afterwards, the UK’s 15% point-of-consumption tax (POCT) takes effect.
Figures also reveal that the UK’s total gambling market (excluding the National Lottery) was worth EUR 8.4 billion (GBP 6.7 billion). EUR 4 billion (GBP 3.2 billion) – nearly half - came via retail betting operations, out of the total amount, which were unchanged year-on-year. Off-course horse betting revenue rose 2% to EUR 866 million (GBP 690 million) while football betting revenue was up nearly a quarter to EUR 368 (GBP 293 million).
Revenue from betting shops’ fixed-odds betting terminals (FOBT) was up 0.3% to EUR 1.95 billion (GBP 1.55 billion). The FOBT in betting shops accounted for 67% of all UK machine gaming. The number of betting shops decreased by 45 to 9,021 while the number of people employed across the industry fell 3% to just over 104,000.
Land-based casino revenue rose over 12% to EUR 1.37 billion (GBP 1.08 billion), representing 16% of the total gambling market share. Punto banco baccarat accounted for nearly one-fifth EUR 252 (GBP 201 million) of total casino revenue, nearly double what the game brought in 2012. Blackjack tied baccarat for second while roulette remained the top table game with EUR 432 million (GBP 344 million). However, blackjack and roulette were available at a combined 1,496 tables while only 150 tables were headed to baccarat.
The Commission received 135 reports of suspicious betting activity between 1 October, 2012 and 31 March, 2014. Nearly 60% of these reports came from bookmakers, with the rest coming from sports governing bodies, police, media and the public. Of the bookies’ reports, 37 were submitted by UK-licensed operators while 43 came from jurisdictions that cooperate with the Commission on sports integrity issues.
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