Gambling and Betting Activities

Introduction

The British gambling and betting industry is today very much regarded as a mainstream leisure activity with a majority of the population participating in one way or another and to a greater of lesser extent. Next to eating out, it is probably the largest out-of-home entertainment. The growing popularity of gambling and betting is partly based on strict regulation, the fact that the industry now enjoys a good reputation for probity and the growing diversity of the product range on offer. For many years the gambling industry has been subject to rapid change, from the introduction of the National Lottery to the current growth area of remote gambling (for example, by both fixed and mobile phones, interactive TV or web-based) and the introduction of new products such as Fixed Odds Betting Terminals and betting exchanges. The 2005 Gambling Act will bring further changes to the regulatory framework and enable the industry to further diversify and expand its products, including the introduction of new regional casinos.

A Definition

Gambling and betting activities are recognised as a separate class of activity under the official Standard Industrial Classification (SIC, 2003) used in the compilation of government statistics. They are defined to include the following:

• Amusement arcade
• Betting activities
• Betting shop
• Bingo hall
• Bookmaker
• Casino
• Football pools
• Gambling activities
• The Gambling Commission
• Gaming club
• Horse racing betting levy board
• Horserace totalisator board
• Lottery ticket sales
• Racing pool
• Racing tipster
• Tip tac person
• Totalisator
• Turf accountant
• Turf commission agency

The Industry in Lancashire

According to estimates gathered from the Annual Business Inquiry, in 2004 there were nearly 1,900 employee jobs in the gambling and betting industry in Lancashire, representing just 0.3% of all jobs in the sub-region. This compared with a total of 91,400 employee jobs in Great Britain representing 0.4% of the national head count. Close to 60% of the local jobs were held by female employees, 57% of whom worked on a part-time basis. In all, nearly a half of the jobs for men and women combined were of a part-time nature. Not surprisingly, with about 37% of the Lancashire head count or 700 jobs, Blackpool was the largest single centre of the activity in the sub-region, with a further 30% shared between Blackburn, Lancaster and Preston. Structurally the activity is highly fragmented, comprising about 260 separate establishments or units across the sub-region. The "average" establishment employs just 7 people. More than 92% of establishments employ less than 10 people and all the remainder employ less than 100 people.

As well has having the highest head count in terms of local gambling and betting jobs, next to Nottingham, Blackpool also has the highest concentration of betting office licences (betting shops) per head of population in Great Britain. The district had 43 betting office licences in 2003, equivalent to 300 per million population and twice the national average. (By comparison Lancashire County had just 108 licences per million population).

Recent years have witnessed an increase in gambling and betting activities and nationally this has been reflected in new job creation. Between 1998 and 2004, the number of gambling and betting activity jobs in Great Britain increased by nearly a third. However, net growth in Lancashire appears to have been on a much more modest scale, expanding by about 300 or 18% over the same period: since 2000 job numbers in the local industry have recorded barely any change at all. The bulk of the additional local jobs 1998-2004 were within the four urban districts listed above.

General Characteristics

The gambling industry in the United Kingdom has expanded significantly over recent years and spending on gambling has increased. Various estimates are available but the National Audit Office/HM Customs & Excise have estimated that the total amount staked on all gambling in the United Kingdom has doubled from £27bn in 1999-2000 to £53bn in 2003/04 (Table 1). Stakes less winnings paid out to punters grew by 20% from £6.9bn in 1999-2000 to £8.3bn in 2003-04. The increase is due to higher spending on general betting since the introduction of Gross Profits Tax in 2001, as this change meant that punters could bet tax-free whereas previously they had a percentage of their stakes deducted by bookmakers to pay general betting duty.

The most recent gambling Prevalence Study, relating to 1999 suggested that almost three quarters of the population took part in some sort of gambling activity over the course of the year (Table 2). Excluding the National Lottery 46% of people participated in gambling activities. The most popular gambling activity in Britain was lotteries, especially the National Lottery, with some two-thirds of the population having bought a lottery ticket over the year. The second most popular was the purchase of scratch cards, with one in five people purchasing scratch cards over the year. This was followed by fruit machines (14%) and betting on horseracing (13%).

The Gambling Act 2005

The Gambling Act 2005 represented the first revision to gambling and betting legislation for more than 36 tears. The aim was to liberalise the industry, eradicating some of the more draconian restrictions in force whilst maintaining controls to ensure that gambling was conducted safely and fairly and ensuring that appropriate mechanisms were in place to minimise the incidence of problem gambling. The 2005 Act provides new powers and protections for both new and old forms of gambling. Some 90% of the Act is about new protection.

A key element of the Act was the creation of a new Gambling Commission. Formally launched on 1 October 2005 the Gambling Commission has been established as the new independent regulator for all commercial gambling in Great Britain (except the National Lottery and spread betting which are the responsibility of the Financial Services Authority and the National Lottery Commission respectively). It took over the role previously held by the Gaming Board in regulating casinos, bingo clubs, gaming machines and the larger society (charitable) lotteries and also (from 2007) will have responsibility for regulating betting and remote gambling. The Commission provides independent advice to government on gambling in Britain but Its core objectives as a regulator, enshrined in the 2005 Act are:

• To keep crime out of gambling
• To ensure that gambling is conducted fairly and openly and
• To protect children and other vulnerable people.

As well as major changes to licensing arrangements, the Act made significant changes to the regime for casinos, allowing general public access and introducing three categories of casino – regional (initially limited to just one), large and small according to their size and which affect what forms of gambling can be provided in them. The regional casino in particular is likely to be unlike anything that already exists in the UK. It will probably be designed to be 'destination venues' drawing substantial visitor numbers and is likely to form a large complex with hotels and associated leisure facilities. The Act also recognises and accommodates the significant technological changes that have taken place over the past 40 years by providing for specific licences for UK-based remote gambling.

This page was compiled by Peter Kivell.

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