The pandemic directly impacted various businesses; those that allowed people to carry out their activities at home grew, and those outsides, not so much.
A fascinating fact to analyze is the Growth of the online betting world in Great Britain in the last year, especially with the more significant number of time at home. We can directly follow that some bookmakers are ceasing to exist, but the numbers of bets and punters only increase, in addition, how does this directly impact the economy. Shall we check?
The UK Gambling Commission, better known as the UK Gambling Commission, has released data that point to the Growth of the online gambling and betting industry. With the big shift of gambling becoming more and more online, it’s essential to find the best possible bookies to place your bets. Check out the list made by betting specialists of the best bookmakers in the UK.
The coronavirus pandemic directly impacted these numbers. It is precisely the period when Covid-19 was on the rise and forced the closure of several physical establishments in the gaming and betting segment.
In the online market, there was a 29% increase in gross gaming income, in addition to a 7% growth inactive accounts. Regarding the number of bets made in the period, the data also point upwards, increasing 12%. Other data released point to the highest number of hours of customers in front of online games. Online Slot games, for example, grew by 12% in September and October.
The UK Gambling Commission announced that it has been communicating with online gambling and betting operators to monitor the guidelines released in May, which addressed the need for improvement and some stipulated norms about accessibility and offering bonuses.
In addition, the entity says that it will continue to monitor and monitor to see how the country responds to the regulations stipulated in recent weeks concerning various levels of restrictions in the gaming industry. The body itself is framed in these restrictions, which analyze whether the powers to supervise and regulate some gambling laws in the UK by the Gambling Commission are within what the government considers to be valid.
Finally, the entity said that it accepts and understands this assessment, provided that the possible new restrictions do not cause significant disruption in the gaming and betting segment.
Data From 2021
2021 was an atypical year, with one of the most striking elements being the lockdown and the need to stay at home, which resulted in changes in people’s behavior. According to a study by the Scottish Universities of Stirling and Glasgow, there is a record of an increase in online betting in the UK.
17.3% of men and 16.5% of women started in the sports betting business in the period between March and June 2021, according to the survey. Furthermore, a third of Britons have increased their sports betting frequency over the same period.
In the UK, betting is regulated and allowed in physical locations and online. Thus, online betting continued to be carried out in a lockdown period.
Constraints Also Exist Even If They Don’t Stop Growth
The review of the Gambling Act 2005 in the UK is ongoing and is expected to directly impact the sports betting industry’s sponsorship of local sport, especially football. Agreements between bookmakers and clubs are expected to be banned due to the UK’s concern about the rise in gambling and its effects on the population. This fear is similar to the tobacco industry’s restrictions on the sporting world when the two mediums were wholly set apart.
British business aggregator ‘Offers Bet UK’ warns of an irreversible path while showing how sports betting is already introduced to UK football. One of the examples used in Newcastle. It is possible to watch a game of the club and even bet on the match at betting kiosks in the stadium.
Many of the Premier League clubs also boast the sponsorship of bookmakers on their jerseys, and contrary to the type of initiative, clubs such as Bolton Wanderers and Forest Green Rovers, even in lower divisions, campaign for the ban citing numerous reasons, such as encouraging under-18s to become gamblers at an earlier age.
The UK has been trying to control the market not just for the sake of the sporting world but as a public health issue. Sports betting companies are already being pressured to reduce advertising to the market long after the ‘boom’ generated during the pandemic when movements related to gambling increased substantially.
Read more:
Betting Shops in Great Britain On A Decline But Gambling Sector Is Thriving