Gambling has long been one of the most popular activities in the UK, and this trend has continued over the past year as well, even with the impact of COVID-19 and the various lockdowns in the country.
In fact, the pandemic has led to even more opportunities for online gambling or iGaming, as people have looked for alternatives to land-based casinos which they could not visit during this time.
Gambling Industry In the United Kingdom (UK)
IGaming was already a lucrative and fast-growing sector, and this has made it even more relevant, with online casino in England perhaps never being as attractive and popular as they are now.
According to the latest statistics, 25 million people in the UK place some form of bet every year, of which 10.5 million do so online. The overall gambling industry is worth £14.3 billion annually, with nearly 39% of that being contributed by online gambling.
This shows just how valuable online gambling has become in the UK, especially with younger people beginning to gamble more as well, since they are far more tech-savvy and are more comfortable betting online than their older peers.
Individuals between the age of 25 and 34 dominate online gambling, with over 23% of this demographic group placing bets online every month, while those between the ages of 35 and 54 contribute to 22% of the total monthly online gambling volumes in the UK.
The UK made up 15% of Europe’s online gambling market according to the most recent figures, while Europe contributed to 54% of global online gambling revenues.
Thus, we can see that the UK alone accounts for more than 8% of global online gambling revenues, which underlines its importance in this market, and this figure is only set to grow in the coming months.
Statistics from Statista show the share of online gambling participants in the UK by type of gambling activity. Sports betting dominated the market, with 81.3%, and casino games were not close behind with 73.6%, while virtual dog or horse races made up 65.1%.
One of the biggest reasons behind this growth is the fact that gambling online is cheaper than visiting a casino. Online gambling allows you to save on travel expenses associated with going to a brick-and-mortar casino. You save on food and drinks as well.
The fact is that it is hard to resist indulging in the added extras that come from visiting a physical casino, which drives up the cost significantly.
Another big reason is that there has been more regulation, with the government getting on board, and most UK online gambling companies are now completely regulated, with some even being listed on stock exchanges, which helps create reliability and trust.
Of course, online casinos are extremely convenient, allowing people to place bets from anywhere on anything they want to. This makes it extremely attractive for gambling fans, and is at a contrast to the crowds that you can often find at land-based casinos which make it difficult and time-consuming to play your favourite games.
