Northern Ireland Gambling Turnover Hits Record Low
The Northern Ireland government has released its 2023 report on its local gambling market.
Turnover from North Ireland land-based gambling and betting operators reached an all-time low of £228m in 2022.
LISTEN TO THIS ARTICLE:The Northern Ireland government has released its 2023 report on its local gambling market.
The annual report, compiled by the Department for Communities (DfC) for the second consecutive year, provides a comparative study of current and past gambling licensing and industry data with the aim of providing valuable insights to shape gambling policy and legislation in the region.
Under the Betting, Gaming, Lotteries, and Amusements (Northern Ireland) Order 1985, two types of permits exist for amusement premises with gaming machines. One permit category covers machines with a maximum payout of £25. As of 2023, 114 permits were issued, covering 6,457 gaming machines. This marks a slight decrease from the 119 permits in 2022; however, it represented an increase in machines from 5,901 in the previous year.
The second permit category covers gaming machines with a maximum payout of £8. In 2023, 24 of these permits were issued, covering 855 machines. These numbers surged year over year compared to 2022 when 18 permits covered 377 gaming machines.
Additionally, the number of gaming machine certificate permits allowing the holder to supply, maintain, and repair gaming machines and their mechanisms was down from 41 in 2022 to 31 in 2023.
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Regarding lottery certificates that enable holders to serve as external lottery consultants or managers, two were active in 2023. Furthermore, society lottery licenses, promoted for charitable causes, saw notable growth in 2023, with 124 existing licenses renewed and 52 new licenses awarded.
Moving to track betting licenses, the DfC issued four in 2023, two for horse racing and two for dog racing.
Bookmakers’ market share remained steady in the year with 103 operational licenses, the same as in 2022. The totalnumber of bookmaking office licenses necessary for operating a bookmaking office rose marginally to 285 in 2023 from 279 in the previous year.
The gambling and betting industry's workforce grew in 2022, with 2,240 employees, increasing from 2,185 in 2021. In contrast, land-based gambling and betting operators have seen a downward trend in turnover since 2016, when it reached £760 million to an all-time low of £228 million in 2022.
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