Unlike many other nations which still haven’t clarified their gambling laws, particularly those surrounding the online gambling side of the industry, the UK’s laws regulating the betting trade are very clear and concise.
Maybe the biggest reason behind the UK’s ability to clarify these regulations is the emergence of the UK Gambling Commission in 2007, before this the laws weren’t quite so detailed.
The UK Gambling Commission oversees everything from sports betting and sportsbooks to casinos and bingo venues, everything apart from horse racing.
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History of UK Gambling
One of the most important pieces of history in respect to gambling in the UK was the introduction of the 1960 Betting and Gaming act, this allowed book makers and land based casinos on to the UK’s high streets effectively legalising casino gaming and sports betting. Following on from there we saw the cleaning up of the language to do with this legislation in 1968, just tightening up on some areas and making the laws slightly stricter.
The next important date was in 2005 as we saw the designation of the UK Gambling Commission to replace the gaming board and oversee the legalisation of online gambling. This saw all forms of gambling apart from horse racing regulated by one governing body.
Gambling in the UK
Within the shores of the United Kingdom there are more than 8,300 bookmaking enterprises across the country. Then you have 1,000 operations providing legal online betting services, 51,000 bars with two betting machines each, the lottery and in excess of 150 land-based casino venues.
The majority of these businesses have appeared since the change of law in 2005 but horse racing, which has been legal since 1934 specifically at racecourses, has always been a prominent part of UK culture. ‘Off the books’ horse race betting goes back centuries but really became popular in the 19th century.
Online and Land Based Casino Law
Both online and land based gambling is 100% legal as long as the provider is licensed by the UK Gambling Commission.
In pubs, every alcohol licensed venue is automatically allowed up to two gambling machines within their establishment, a venue can apply for a further license to allow for more if they wish.
The minimum and maximum payouts all depend on what category the machine is.
You will also find these types of gaming machines in land based casinos but the majority of casinos will be taken up by table games. With over 150 casino venues in the UK, 75% of these sites are owned and operated by either Genting Group or Grosvenor. Unfortunately none of these venues are comparable to the super casinos you might find in Las Vegas, although proposals for this type of casino have been suggested and turned down, most casinos you will find within the UK are much smaller businesses.
The online gambling sector is a completely different story, with over 1000 licensees and nearly triple the revenue of land based venues. In 2019, land based casinos generated just over £1 billion, whereas the online casino side brought in nearly £3.2 billion.
Those online businesses that are properly licensed and regulated have the bonus of tax benefits and the protection of UK and European government law when it comes to gambling online as they pay the proper duties for these benefits.
Everyone should pay attention to where an online betting site is licensed for your own protection but to learn some more on this take a look at what you should be aware of when using an online casino.
In Conclusion
The only thing you really need to remember when it comes to gambling law in the UK is that as long as the venue or website you wish to use is licensed and regulated by the UK Gambling Commission then you’re safe, it couldn’t be clearer, particularly when you look at the way other countries decide to regulate their gambling.
If you would still like to keep in touch with the latest gambling laws and news then stay in touch here.
