Tune in for a recap of 3 ICE London 2023 UKGC speeches: Andre Rhodes, Tim Miller and Sarah Gardner take the stage in the event’s largest CPZ. (Photo by Maike und Björn Bröskamp on Pixabay)
ICE London 2023 came with the largest Consumer Protection Zone (CPZ) we have seen versus any previous event, and the UKGC took full advantage with three speakers sharing their inside knowledge.
In the section below this news intro, I will reveal bullet-points covering the stats and most important points made by each speaker. However, let’s begin with a quick summary of each speech for those of you in a hurry!
• Andrew Rhodes: Mr Rhodes delivered a speech covering consumer behaviour. He revealed certain figures that include how the top ten online companies in the country dominate over three-quarters and the top three more than 50% of the total UK market’s GGY (Gross Gambling Yield).
He also unveiled stats covering market growth, acquisitions, increases in operator cost implications to implement responsible gambling rules, and figures showing a drop in player losses despite a rise in the number of bets.
• Tim Miller: Mr Miller covered the gambling regulations and collaboration. Interestingly, he described it as ‘Big Tech’ referring to today’s gambling industry as a ‘Global Tech Industry’. Below you will find key topics from his speech covering ‘Mergers and Acquisitions’, ‘Crypto and NFTs’, ‘Illegal Online Gambling’, and ‘International Regulatory Collaboration’.
• Sarah Gardner: The UK’s Local Government Association deputy chief executive Ms Gardener covered how the UKGC works with local authorities as co-regulators. Her speech revealed some of the latest gambling figures and stats covering the land-based gambling industry. She also gave some examples of issues whereby some establishments failed to carry AML and social responsibility checks. She finished off by covering ‘Co-regulators, partners’, including problem gambling stats, and ‘Areas of Focus’.
Full UK Gambling Market Review: For a full update on the United Kingdom’s online casino market, head over to the UK gambling websites guide. It covers the UKGC, GamStop, ASA, RNG, security testing laboratories, the UK’s laws on gambling as well as an introduction to the country’s top gambling platforms.
Andrew Rhodes ICE London 2023 UKGC Consumer Behaviour Speech
Key UK Gambling Market Financial Stats:
- 77% of the total UK gambling industry’s B2C GGY comes via the top ten operator groups in the country.
- 50% of the total UK gambling industry’s B2C GGY comes via the top three operator groups in the country.
- 85% of B2C GGY in the United Kingdom comes from around 5% of all accounts, while 22.5 million people gamble reasonably regularly.
- The top 3 operator groups have strengthened their market share from 33% to over 50% over the past half a decade.
Mr Rhodes mentioned that operators need to become more competitive and innovative to continue growth within the UK gambling market. I would say this is because the top 3 companies have such a large market share, and that would mean more disruptors are needed.
Key Responsible Gambling Points:
- Problem gambling statistics are stable (therefore there are no huge rises as the market stabilises post-pandemic)
- The of active accounts and bets with the largest operators increased by 4 million and 4 billion, respectively. Although the number of bets overall is only up 5%.
- Players in the £500 per month loss bracket is now down 8%, while players in the £200 per month loss bracket fell to 2%.
- Those betting £50 a spin on slots fell 76%. One operator even saw the number drop by between 90% and 98%.
- Mr Rhodes also mentioned that the gambling commission recognises that some operators reported revenue losses in 2022 due to the increased costs involved with implementing responsible gambling mechanisms.
- The UKGC does not force affordability checks but does require operators to use specific markers (milestones) that will trigger these checks. He also went on to list some unacceptable instances of negligence.
Full Speech Here: ICE World Regulatory Briefing – Andrew Rhodes speech.
Tim Miller ICE London 2023 UKGC Speech
Key Introductory Points:
- Today regulating gambling is about balance as most operators operate within multiple jurisdictions, and online gambling is now a global tech.
- Mergers and acquisitions are still on the rise referring to the top 3 operator groups now controlling 50% of market share as per Andrew Rhodes’s speech. (I can agree with this as we often cover iGaming acquisition news. For example, 888 Holdings now owns William Hill and Mr Green online casinos).
- The UKGC remains vigilant on the rise in NFTs, crypto, synthetic shares and other tech in use to establish income around the edges of the UKGC framework.
Key Illegal Gambling Points:
- Illegal online gambling is a concern and there is a stern focus on casinos and sports books not registered with GamStop. The target for these sites is players who have self-excluded. Some issues are that websites popular in the UK like Reader Digest are not removing these ads from their publications. There is pressure being put on the jurisdictions these sites/businesses operate. However, the UKGC cannot, and is not set up to take legal action against these businesses.
- The UKGC is willing to work with other regulatory authorities to fight illegal gambling sites. Also, the collaboration will help each jurisdiction to learn from one another.
Full Speech Here: ICE World Regulatory Briefing: Tim Miller speech.
Sarah Gardner ICE London 2023 UKGC Speech
Key Introductory points:
- According to the latest stats at hand, year-on-year from September 2021 to 2022, participation in gambling rose by 27%.
- Land-based gambling remains remained at £3.5 billion for the tax year April 2021 to 2022.
- This is for the 8,408 bingo halls, land-based gambling arcades and casinos as well as high-street bookies.
Key points covering compliance and enforcement in land-based venues:
- There are still an excessive number of cases in which operators are failing to trigger AML checks and/or take action to identify problem gambling.
- Examples given included failure to trigger proof of earnings check after a customer lost £275,000 over 22 months, and eventually accepted supporting documents that clearly did not match the player’s losses. Another example was a player losing a total of £11,345 after totting up £29,372 worth of bets in one month – the operator failed to trigger responsible gambling checks.
Key points covering Co-regulators, and partners:
- Co-regulators issue fines on a local level and work closely with the UKGC. They also run checks on brick-and-mortar gambling properties.
- Right now, there is around 0.5% of the UK’s population reporting cases of problem gambling.
- Of the 363 local regulators, 338 shared their data with the UKGC that was part of the authority’s Licensing Authority Statistics. She encourages the remaining authorities to also share data.
Full Speech Here: Local Government Association – Sarah Gardner speech.
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