PLAYING THE ODDS DURING THE PANDEMIC
More punters have been logging onto online casinos as the lockdown closed gambling dens
ONLINE gambling on games like poker and roulette surged as the pandemic forced casinos, bingo halls and bookmakers to close. HM Revenue and Customs data shows that the total amount taken in betting and gaming receipts fell to £2.8 billion in 2020/21, a fall of 6%, or £182m less than the previous year.
This is a duty taken from profits after winnings and prize money has been deducted - from gambling and playing games of chance.
But while these figures show the overall amount spent on gambling and gaming has fallen, more punters have been chancing their luck online than ever before.
Remote gaming duty (RGD) receipts - charged on profits taken from people playing games like roulette or poker online - have increased by 25% compared to 2019/20, rising from £706m to £885m.
In July alone, £217m was taken in RGD receipts, which is the highest month on record and 23% higher than the £176m taken in July 2019.
While July is one of a number of seasonal peaks for RGD receipts seen over the last few years; it is thought likely that lockdown restrictions which closed casinos and bingo halls prompted even more to seek the thrills of online games of chance.
The figures show that RGD receipts from online games accounted for almost a third (31%) of all betting and gaming duty receipts taken last year.
That compares with 23% of all duty receipts the previous year, and 18% in 2018/19.
Meanwhile, gaming duty - which is charged on profits taken by casinos on games including blackjack and craps - has predictably slumped, falling by 63% from £213m in 2019/20 to £80m last year.
Machine games duty (charged on slot machines) fell by 45%, from £510m to £282m; and bingo duty plummeted from £31m in 2019/20 to just £9m, a drop of 75%.
But despite the forced closure of bookmakers and even the cancellation of many sporting events during the pandemic, there has been no slump in the amount spent on betting.
The figures show that both general betting duty receipts which is charged on fixed-odds bets made with bookmakers in person or online - and pool betting duty receipts (not fixed odds) remained stable.
Overall, £604m was taken in total betting receipts, which was 2% more than the £592m taken the year before.
And lottery duty - paid out of profits from the National Lottery rose for the third consecutive year, to £980m, which is £12m (1%) more than the previous year.
Anna Hemmings, CEO at Gamcare said: "While recent figures show that overall betting activity has declined, those who are ‘engaged gamblers’ have seen an increase in activity, particularly online.
"Our figures show that in 2020/21, 84% of calls to our helpline relate to online gambling, up from 73% the previous year.
“This represents an acceleration of a trend we’d seen emerging over the preceding five years towards online gambling being reported among callers.
“Those who contact us often have multiple accounts across both land-based and online gambling services, but in the pandemic year, land based operations were closed for much of it, meaning that some players switched to online.
“The Government’s Gambling Act review is ongoing, and is likely to focus on ensuring the legislation is fit for the digital age. Our response to the consultation highlights ways in which online protections could be strengthened”.