UKGC Chief Executive denies "explosion" in iGaming, claims gambling has settled into a "new normal"

Andrew Rhodes, Chief Executive of the UK Gambling Commission, has denied an explosion in online gambling since the pandemic, stating participation “has not gone through the roof” in recent years. Rhodes’ remarks were part of his speech at the World Regulatory Briefing, delivered last week within the framework of the ICE London expo (February 7 - 9).

The UKGC boss addressed the audience at ICE’s Consumer Protection Zone through a keynote speech titled “Latest research shaping regulatory decisions in safer gambling in the UK”. According to Rhodes, three years on from the start of the pandemic, and with the economy still facing issues, UK data suggests gambling may well have settled into “a new normal.”

As of September 2022, overall participation in any gambling activity, in the last four weeks, remains statistically stable at 44% compared to September 2021. Within that, the level of online gambling has continued its long-term trend up to 27%, matched by land-based gambling as well. The overall headline problem gambling rate is statistically stable as well.

As participation has not gone “through the roof,” Rhodes said this means operators need to be “more competitive and innovative” if they want to continue to grow in the British market, or they need to diversify abroad. According to the UKGC, both trends are happening, with mergers and acquisitions continuing throughout the industry.

The regulator claims the top three operator groups in Britain have increased their market share from around 1/3 to 1/2 in just the last five years. Moreover, the top 10 groups now represent 77% of total business-to-consumer (B2C) gross gambling yield (GGY) in Great Britain. But activity can also be seen on the innovation front.

As for the latest tech developments, innovation is taking place in emerging products such as NFTs, “synthetic shares” and cryptocurrency. “These aren’t gambling in the main, certainly not under legislation in the UK,” pointed out Rhodes. “But we’re watching and rest assured, we’ll have questions of any operator who gets involved.”

However, despite the relatively stable numbers, some of the largest operator groups are stating revenues are down due to safer gaming measures they are introducing, ahead of the much-awaited UK government White Paper on gambling. Across larger operators, the UKGC is seeing GGY fall by just under 16%, with the amount of money staked down by just over 13%.

The number of players losing over £500 a month has seen a drop by nearly 8%, and those losing over £200 a month by a little over 2%. Players staking £50 and over per spin for slots fell by 76% and some operators have seen this reduced by over 90%, with the largest drop being over 98%. However, the number of bets is up by just under 5% and actives by almost 6%.

Rhodes warned that it was “unwise” to rush to particular conclusions. However, he noted that, given the number of bets being placed with the largest 5 operators increased by 4 billion and the number of active accounts by some 4 million, data doesn’t suggest there is a flood away from gambling, but that some patterns have changed over the last year.

Elsewhere in his speech, the UKGC Chief Executive discussed the controversial so-called “affordability checks,” assuring there is misinformation circulating about the Gambling Commission’s position on affordability. 

“The Gambling Commission has not imposed blanket so-called ‘affordability checks’ or set limits on what we think anyone should be ‘allowed’ to spend,” denied Rhodes. “What we have done is make it clear we do expect operators to consider a range of factors when assessing the risk for a consumer, including the financial situation for a consumer.”

The UKGC boss said the regulator’s aim is not to set limits on spend, but to eradicate instances of unacceptable levels of gambling being allowed by operators. “It is for operators to set limits themselves based on their customer types, business and risks,” he stated. “It is also for operators to take responsibility for preventing the sorts of [unacceptable] cases I mentioned above from occurring in the first place.”

Rhodes’ latest remarks build upon points he already addressed in prior speeches: the UKGC boss had already highlighted the continued pace of mergers and acquisitions in the industry, and denied the introduction of blanket “affordability checks” last November. As for the UK Gambling Act Review, Rhodes did not provide any indication of a potential publication date.

Lastly, the UKGC boss concluded his speech by offering an update on the regulator’s studies into player behavior. Last year, the Commission ran a pilot test for a new Participation and Prevalence methodology pilot. The watchdog is now finishing the experimentation phase and will be looking to launch the new methodology later this year as official statistics.

The UKGC will also be running a one-day Conference titled “Setting the Evidence Agenda” in March, bringing operators together with academics and the third sector to look “at how they can all improve.”