Online gambling soars by £1bn during the first year of Covid pandemic
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Takings from online gambling soared during the first year of the Covid-19 pandemic – with experts warning the growth of “addictive” digital betting could cost lives.
Campaigners also say “relentless advertising” of online gambling is irresponsible and have called for more regulation.
Gambling Commission figures show that the remote betting, bingo and casino sector in Britain made £6.9billion in gross gambling yield (GGY) in the year to March 2021.
GGY is the amount operators take from bets after paying out any winnings.
That was an increase of 18% from £5.8bn in 2019-20 – the biggest increase since 2016-17, when comparable figures begin.
The most lucrative part of online gambling by far was casinos, which made £4.0bn in GGY during 2020-21 – a 22% rise from a year earlier.
Virtual slots machines alone accounted for the majority (73%) of GGY at online casinos, at £2.9bn.
Co-founder of charity Gambling with Lives Liz Ritchie, who lost her son Jack to gambling-related suicide, said: “Online casinos are a very addictive form of gambling and there is at least one suicide a day linked to gambling.
“Expanding online gambling during a pandemic with relentless advertising and predatory “free-bet” offers is irresponsible and the Government and families should be very worried – people will die.”
Matt Zarb-Cousin, director of campaign group Clean Up Gambling, said that online slots and casino products have no limit to the amount someone can bet at a time.
That differs from so-called fixed-odds betting terminals in betting shops, which have a £2 stake limit.
He added that the Government’s current review of gambling regulations was a chance to address these problems.
While slots dominated online casinos in 2020-21, peer-to-peer poker – whereby players compete against each other – saw the largest increase proportionally.
GGY for such games went up by 44% over the year to £141.7million.
Meanwhile, the figure for roulette rose by 21% to £528.5m, while for blackjack it increased by 4% to £196.4m.
A Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport spokesperson said: "We are undertaking the first major review of gambling laws in 15 years to make sure they are fit for the digital age.
“We are determined to protect vulnerable people from exploitation by unfair practices that entrench problem gambling.
"We intend to strike the right balance between giving adults the freedom to choose how they gamble safely, with the right protections for those at risk of harm. This includes looking at affordability checks."
