Britain's Online Wager Industry Booms

Online gambling growth in Britain is looking good. Despite the much-feared Government point-of-consumption (PoC) tax, turnover for the industry is well on pace to surpass £3bn in the next two years.

Robust Projections

This projection is based on current figures showing net gaming revenue having gained 12.2 percent last year to reach £2.31bn. The PoC actually stands to raise Treasury revenues substantially, as the 15 percent tax increase on all bets placed online up will raise up to £400m for the Treasury, in an ideal situation where robust growth fuels increased revenues for both the government and private operators in the first full year of online gambling.

Further growth is expected in the form of Gambling Compliance Research arm GCRS estimates online gambling revenue increases of 11.4 percent to £2.58bn in 2014, a further 10 percent in 2015 to £2.83bn, and another jump of 13.6 percent to £3.22bn in 2016.

Daniel Stone, head of data content at Gambling Compliance, says a spike in activity ahead of the PoC implementation will concentrate traffic online as a result, as companies compete for the online gambling dollar ahead of the tax regime:

“...the market share analysis contained in the report shows just how crowded the online space is in the UK. With companies forced to reassess their business models in light of the imminent tax hit, the fight for new customers and share of wallet has never been more intense.”

Heated Market Competition

William Hill is retaining its status as the leading online operator in Britain in the previous fiscal year of 2013, with a 14,5 percent of total market share. However, bet365 is putting on a strong challenge, boosting its overall share by 2.4 percent to 13.7 percent.

While the fight for #1 continues, overall online competition in the UK is clearly spurred by the popularity of sports betting and gambling in England which has effectively transferred to the online model, with the government set to benefit the most from the new intensity of operator competition in a rapidly narrowing field.