News

Jul 27, 2020

July Update: UK Gambling Business Stats and Data During the Covid-19 Pandemic

The UK Gambling Commission issued a report recently, covering some interesting figures about the gambling industry in this country in March, April, and May 2020. This report was mainly made to show how the gambling business was affected on the island due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
Therefore, let’s check out some of the interesting stats. Read on!

Active Players — Total Number

The data was harvested from some of the leading operators in the online gambling market, covering 80% of the entire market. The total number of active players as of March 31, 2019, was 15,955,960, which is a -2.11% year-on-year decline compared to 15,618,569 recorded on March 31, 2020. This number continued to decrease in April and May. The change from March to April was -5.02, and from April to May -1.2, as the number of players recorded as of May 28, 2020, was 14,661,935.

Active Players Per Verticals

Slots remained the most popular type of casino games, and their popularity even recorded a y-o-y increase of up to 25%. Almost half a million players more were interested in playing this type of games in March 2020. Other gaming activities, recorded a y-o-y increase of 13%. Most punters were engaged in betting on real events, but these decreased, as some sports events were already cancelled in March 2020. The number of sports betting participants was 5,200,156 in March 2019, and this number decreased to 4,645,552 in the same period of 2020, which was a -11% decline. The biggest decline was between March and April 2020, as virtually no sports were left in April. Almost 55% of players gave up on sports betting by April. This number already improved in May by 13%. Consequently, the number of players betting on virtual events increased by far. In March 2019, there were 206,664 punters. In March 2020, a total of 388,786 punters were recorded, making an increase of 88%. The trend continued in April, with an increase of an additional 44%. However, as soon as real sports events resumed in May, this number dropped by -48%.

Session Length

An average session length in March 2019 was 26 minutes, but this decreased in March 2020, when the average length was 22 minutes. This trend continued in April and May.

GGY

The Gross Gambling Yield was also affected by the coronavirus pandemic, and that’s visible in all gambling verticals presented in the report.  GGY for online slots was £162,345,550 in March 2019, and this number increased to £186,659,624 in March 2020, making a 15% y-o-y increase, as more people were staying at home playing online slots. Interestingly enough, this number fell by -9% in April and then improved by 9% once again in May. Other casino games had a different history as they reported a y-o-y decrease of 5% in March 2020. However, when many land-based platforms closed their doors, many table and card game lovers switched to online casinos, making an increase of 33% from March to April, and further 1% from April to May.  Betting on real events was increased by 88% year-on-year in March 2020, but then declined by -62% in April. Virtual betting increased y-o-y by 37%. However, the ultimate winner was eSports betting that increased by 2922% in March 2020 compared to the same period last year.
Jul 27, 2020

Why You Should Choose Curacao Online Gaming License if You're New to iGaming

If you want to start an online gambling business, one of the first things you need to do is obtain a valid license. This can be tricky if you're new to the world of iGaming, as you need to pay attention to stuff like tax, licensing expenses, the stability of your business, and its environment. You'll have a lot of challenges to tackle on your road to starting your online gambling platform, and licensing is a huge bite to chew.
Jul 8, 2020

Evolution Gaming Rocks the iGaming World With an Offer to Buy NetEnt

Evolution Gaming is poised to make some momentous changes in the world of iGaming with their bid to buy fellow software company NetEnt for a reported $2.12 billion, or around SEK19 billion. The move is a part of a strategy by Evolution Gaming to position itself as the absolute world leader in the online gaming business.
Jun 26, 2020

Does the Coronavirus Outbreak Impact Gambling Habits?

The COVID-19 disease has spread all over the world, and many countries are forced to go into lockdown in order to prevent the virus from spreading. Essentially, all people are advised to stay at home, if possible, and work remotely. Some governments even made a curfew order, forbidding citizens to leave their homes.
Jun 26, 2020

The UKGC Imposes Tighter Measures After New Evidence

The United Kingdom Gambling Commission is working hard on protecting the industry, workers, and players from the negative impact of coronavirus in every possible aspect. After a recent study, the UKGC gained insight into the latest evidence showing that some players may be under a greater risk during the lockdown caused by the pandemic.
Mar 30, 2020

Is the Skills Gap in Malta’s Gaming Industry Becoming an Issue for Operators?

Malta is known for more than just beautiful beaches and rich history. Gambling has been an intrinsic part of Malta and its economic and cultural identity for decades. The gambling industry in Malta is regulated and overseen by the Malta Gaming Authority. This authority has gained international credibility for being fair and trustworthy by both players and casino game developers.
Feb 19, 2020

How are Safety and Transparency Ensured in the Gambling Industry?

Gambling is, by far, one of the most popular leisure time activities for many. However, gambling doesn’t come without risks. For starters, there is the issue of the legitimacy of the gambling site you are playing on, the regulatory aspect and fairness of casino games, the protection of personal data, and many other things.
Feb 12, 2020

Impact of Brexit on Online Gaming Scene in the UK

Almost four years after the Brexit vote in a referendum, the UK has finally left the EU and its single market policy. The uncertainties are manifold and everyone has reasons to worry. The online gambling industry is undoubtedly one of the concerned parties.
Jan 28, 2020

Future of Cryptocurrency and Online Gambling in Regard to New 2020 Laws

Cryptocurrencies are often considered the future of payment and the cause of the slow demise of fiat currencies. Although these predictions belong more to the domain of fantasy novels and movies, the growing presence of cryptos can undoubtedly be felt in all areas of business, especially the online gambling industry.
Dec 26, 2019

Why Do We Gamble?

It’s no secret that gambling is one of the most exciting leisure activities in today’s time. It originated thousands of years ago, and the latest technological advancements, such as the Internet or the latest software pieces, as well as numerous locations where we can gamble, have made it more accessible than ever.
Dec 12, 2019

The Future of Online Gambling in Brazil

Brazil is the fifth biggest country in the world in terms of population, which is just one of the reasons why the Brazilian market is extremely lucrative for casino operators. However, gambling operators might have to wait a bit longer for their slice of the pie before Brazil legalizes gambling, thus enabling the creation of a regulated gambling market.
Dec 3, 2019

How Tight Should Gambling Laws Be?

Gambling laws continuously change and adapt to the newest gambling trends and technology in order to protect the players and ensure they are playing in regulated markets.
Nov 15, 2019

The UKGC Might Ban the Use of Credit Cards

After gathering supporting data from debt relief charities, financial services, gambling operators, and individuals who experienced financial troubles due to gambling with credit cards, the UK Gambling Commission continues to evaluate the collected data, which will be one of the determining factors concerning the use of credit cards for gambling.
Nov 14, 2019

Preparing for Brexit: MGA’s Guidance Document

In order to prepare for the United Kingdom’s exit from the European Union, the Malta Gaming Authority has issued a guidance document that offers insight into the potential impact on the gaming industry.
Sep 20, 2019

Impact of Mobile Gambling on Society

In the last two decades, the mobile industry has come a long way. Mobile phones went from being a privilege and a luxury to one of the most widespread technological gadgets around. Apart from becoming an integral part of our lives, smartphones have also become a lot better and faster, which helped them overtake computers as the most popular method of going online.
Sep 18, 2019

The UKGC Updates Their Policy on FTP Games

The UKGC has updated its License Conditions and Codes of Practice (LLCP) on May 7. The new update affects every UK licensee and states that every remote licensee must verify the age of any customer before the said customer can access licensees’ free-to-play-games.
Sep 12, 2019

Obtaining an online gambling license in Greece

The Greek gambling industry, along with foreign companies, held its breath waiting for a new licensing regime for online casinos. At the legislative level, the activity of both land-based and online casinos is regulated by Law No. 4002/2011 of 2011, according to which only a limited number of operators (24 companies in total) gained the right to offer their services on the Greek gambling market. Note that possession of another license (of Curacao or Malta, for example) does not give the company the right to serve Greek players.
Jun 26, 2019

How to obtain a betting license to operate in the Russian Federation

Online sportsbooks are considered a highly lucrative business. Until 2016, online betting was illegal in Russia, but since the adoption of an amendment to Federal Law No. 244, the industry has been regulated. At the time of writing, 31 Russian companies have the right to accept interactive bets (this is the term used in the legislation for sports betting).
Jun 24, 2019

Lottery License and How to Get a Lottery License

The lottery is a game of chance where people pay to participate and have a chance to win various prizes. There are multiple types of lotteries, and each of them requires different license types, such as a non-remote society lottery, remote society lottery, non-remote external lottery manager, and remote external lottery manager. Keep in mind that some lottery organisations don’t even require a license, such as society and small society lotteries.
Jun 20, 2019

Bingo License

Many organisations can offer bingo games without a license. However, if the total sum of the stakes or prizes exceeds a certain amount (which depends on the jurisdiction you are in), you will need a bingo operating license. Luckily for you, the process of applying is rather simple.
Jun 19, 2019

Betting Licence

If you are planning on running a sportsbook, you’ve come to the right place — our article will help you learn everything you need to know about different types of betting licences, how to obtain them, as well as what the requirements for obtaining a betting licence are.