| 110% increase in session length greater than one hour over the full time period.
Table 5: Gross Gambling Yield (GGY)
Data from the biggest operators, covering approximately 80 percent of the online gambling market showing the gross gambling yield (GGY) from slots.
Increase in GGY is 37% over the full time period. UK inflation over the period was 24% (Office for National Statistics [ONS]).
Table 6: A comparison of annual GGY online by sector (in millions)
It must be noted that table 6 is generated from different GC data than tables 1-5. The GC warn against comparing these two sets of data, so it is not done here. The comparisons in table 6 are from one set of data (https://www.gamblingcommission.gov.uk/statistics-and-research/publication/industry-statistics-february-2024-correction). Also note, that this data has been collected for a longer period of time.
Discussion
The headline figures for online slot losses are large, e.g. £2 billion per annum and £5 million per day. To add some context to the yearly losses (£2 billion), they would pay the median salaries of circa 46,000 teachers every year (https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/school-workforce-in-england).
Tables 1-3 provide a clear picture of increasing slot participation, with the inevitable associated increases in losses (table 5).
The UK and world gambling literature contains numerous publications which cite slots on and offline as being the most or one of the most harmful legal gambling products. A few examples:
(https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s11469-023-01060-8?fromPaywallRec=false)
(https://www.gamblingcommission.gov.uk/report/gambling-survey-for-great-britain-annual-report-2023-official-statistics/gsgb-annual-report-problem-gambling-severity-index Fig.17).
(https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC10260219/)
(https://assets.ctfassets.net/j16ev64qyf6l/60qlzeoSZIJ2QxByMAGJqz/e3af209d552b08c16566a217ed422e68/Gambling-behaviour-in-Great-Britain-2016.pdf p.79)
(https://assets.ctfassets.net/j16ev64qyf6l/45peiYpHlqZj6ka9bTKeFB/55186ba0bb1c740924b31b5fa0392cce/Gambling-behaviour-in-Great-Britain-2015.pdf p.45)
Anecdotal data collected by Justice for Punters over eight years supports the aforementioned references, e.g. whilst all gambling types do cause harm, slots are clearly the biggest offender.
The GB licensed gambling industry regularly promotes that it is trying to reduce harm from gambling as much as it can. However, it is difficult to believe that the large increase in participation has nothing to do with industry policies and the marketing of slots, e.g. cross-marketing with sports betting, sometimes including offers where a free sports bet is combined with free slot spins. How does this balance with the objective of trying to reduce harm when you consider the aforementioned literature? It surely doesn’t.
Of particular concern is the increasing GGY (table 5), whilst the average session length has decreased (table 4a), but the number playing for greater than one hour has increased (table 4b). Only the industry knows if their increased profits have been obtained safely. As an example, the data the industry presently provides to the GC does not outline whether those playing for greater than one hour are customers who are the most likely to be displaying harmful patterns of play. As mentioned, there has to be a suspicion that this increased profit has not been achieved safely, although it could be argued that a greater than doubling in ‘active players’ whilst GGY has increased by 37% hints at safer play? Only more in-depth data at an individual customer level can answer this question. Further data should be requested, preferably demanded, by the GC immediately.
Table 5 outlines in detail the increase in GGY over the full time period (37%). UK inflation over the same period was 24% (Office for National Statistics [ONS]). This is an outstanding performance by the large licensed operators, especially in the financial state the UK has been in over the time period of the data. For further context the spend on recreation and culture in general increased by 10% from 2019-2023 (ONS). Inflation for this slightly shorter period of time was 20% meaning, after inflation people were spending less on recreation and culture in general in 2023 than 2019. These large GB licensed gambling companies certainly know how to generate financial slots success.
Table 6 is generated from other GC data. It is fascinating, in that it shows how dominant the GB online gaming market has become compared to the online betting market. As stated by the GC, it is quite different regarding the levels of GGY compared to the data used for tables 1-5. The GGY yield for slots according to this data is more than the combined GGY from horse racing and football. This reconfirms where the business focus of many GB licensed gambling companies is. It is simple, gaming is the place to be if you want to grow your business consistently, so do not be surprised if sports betting becomes a secondary product for more licensees. Horse racing, the once dominant gambling product in GB, is clearly not anymore. It is probably fair to assume that the net profit comparison between slots and horse racing are even worse, due to the costs of providing the horse racing product. It would be interesting to look at net profit in a similar way to this analysis of gross profit.
It is confusing that two sets of GC data can produce such different results regarding GGY. The GC explains that the difference is due to one sample being taken from approximately 80% of the online market, which contain free bets & bonuses, whereas the other has a different cohort and doesn’t contain free bet and bonuses. Nevertheless, it is very useful to have this data. There is also an urgent need for the GC to have fast access to financial and play data for individuals (this could be done anonymously, until there is a suspicion of law breaking or exploitation). This does not seem to happen presently, except for GC licensee inspection visits, which is archaic in a digital age.
Due to this data confusion and other regulatory challenges is it time to introduce something similar to the Spanish Internal Control System (ICS) whereby the regulator standardises how licensees collect gambling data from customers?
The Spanish regulator can access this standardised data from licensed operators at anytime. The data collected is extremely detailed (personal information, all bets, profit and loss, session length & session losses for casino products, all financial transactions, etc). The regulator can see clearly if a licensed operator is breaching fair and safe regulations (search using the Google term ‘Resolution of 6 october 2014, from the directorate general for the regulation of gambling, approving the regulation which elaborates on the technical specifications for gambling, traceability and security that must be met by the non-reserved technical gambling systems licensed under the Gambling Act 13/2011 of 27 May). There is an English version. There doesn’t appear to be an English version for the 2024 update (https://www.ordenacionjuego.es/en/sistema-control-SCI). Another bonus in Spain is that the regulator can see if a licensee is breaching their rules on bet stake restrictions. This approach isn’t increasing ‘Big Brother’; it is simply standardising data that is already collected by GB licensees.
The question must be asked whether the GC has considered a similar system instead of imposing the controversial financial risk checks (affordability checks) and the forthcoming single customer view.
Nobody can be certain, but it is highly likely that the vast majority of customers would prefer something similar to the ICS as opposed to being asked for document after document from many licensees in order to gamble and withdraw winnings. GB licensees would not abuse the present affordability mess, as they presently do, if they knew that the regulator, at anytime, could instantly access standardised databases in order to ascertain whether they are acting in a fair and safe way.
The ICS also makes it possible to track players across licensed operators, when applicable, by creating a single customer view that is only available to the regulator, which is far better than the approach being taken in GB.
Of course, like other approaches any type of ICS will only work if the sanctions for breaking regulatory rules are severe.
The results section has a note about Covid. Online gambling benefitted from Covid as retail betting shops were closed for a period, plus after closure many people were reluctant to go into shop. It is therefore only fair to point out that the growth in the online sector may not have been as rapid without Covid.
Conclusion
This online slots data provided by the biggest GB licensed operators is a picture of unbridled success.
There seems to have been a policy of large licensees prioritising slots. As online slots regularly feature in the academic literature as one of the most harmful gambling products, it must be closely investigated if this industry policy has caused increased harm. It is difficult to believe that slots are not causing more harm in 2024 than they were in 2019 or for that matter since 2014.
If nothing more, the GC should be looking very closely at the ways its large licensees are guarding against harm from online slots. If the GC demands further data mentioned here it could provide an informative insight into whether online slots, regulatory-wise, should now be approached differently to most other gambling products, e.g. a separate financial wallet and other more robust regulatory approaches.
The UK government and the GC should also be considering something similar to the Spanish ICS, whereby accessible data provides an instant view on whether a licensed operator is providing a fair and safe service as opposed to their present plans, which are personally intrusive for customers and open to abuse by licensees. An ICS approach, backed by severe penalties, would mean GB licensees would be unlikely to operate unfairly and unsafely, because they could easily be caught if doing so. A major worry is that the UK government and the GC are too far ‘down the road’ to rethink.
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