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Betting & Gaming Market Report 2008
Key Note Publications Ltd, Oct 2008
The betting and gaming industry of Great Britain has a substantial turnover. In 2007, net expenditure on games of chance, including the National Lottery, increased by 2.1% on the previous year. The industry has been in the process of significant change following deregulatory measures — a result of the 2005 Gambling Act, which came into effect in September 2007.
Another significant trend is consolidation; the most extreme instance of which was seen in the pools sector where Sportech PLC's acquisition of Vernons in December 2007 meant that the former now controls all three major football pools brands in the UK. Sportech now represents approximately 99% of the total football pools market with a customer base of over 700,000 weekly players. In the casino sector, Harrah's Entertainment is understood to have made a tentative approach to Gala Coral Group about a possible merger between Gala Casinos and its own London Clubs International business. Meanwhile, Genting International — the Malaysian gaming company that owns Stanley Casinos — has announced that it has lifted its stake in the Rank Group, sparking fresh bid speculation. Therefore, more consolidation looks increasingly likely in the near future.
Conversely, the survival of the bingo sector looks in jeopardy. The industry continues its battle to change the existing tax system, which treats the sector unfairly in comparison with other betting and gaming activities, while it has been particularly affected by the smoking ban that came into effect in 2007. The ban has had limited effect on betting shops, for example, as punters do not usually need to spend any length of time inside the establishment. However, smokers who are forced to leave bingo clubs to indulge their habit are losing valuable playing time.
It may have been a difficult year for the industry with new legislation, a tougher tax regime introduced by the 2007 Budget, and the reduction in the number of permissible high jackpot machines. Nevertheless, on the whole, betting and gaming is an activity that is much more recession-proof than others. In fact, rising household bills, a faltering housing market and the credit crunch may make betting and gaming even more appealing to some punters. The Government may have backtracked on plans for the UK's first supercasino, but there are plans to build many more casinos of a smaller size. Another area of betting and gaming expected to enjoy considerable growth is online gambling. Recent developments in this sector include the fact that operators of remote gambling based in Great Britain came under the jurisdiction of the Gambling Commission in September 2007, by virtue of the 2005 Gambling Act. They are now required to produce quarterly statistical returns, so that the size of the industry will become more quantifiable.
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