How Gambling Helps The Economy

Gambling might be associated with a leisurely task or a profession to some, but it’s also a key contributor to the UK economy.

According to The Guardian, the British gambling industry has significantly grown in the past decade due to the growing number of available online games and the liberalisation of gambling laws by Tony Blair’s government.

The impact in the past decade

The Gambling Act, which first came to fruition in 2007, has allowed UK online casinos, sports books and poker companies to advertise on TV.

Ultimately, this has given the industry the publicity to reach customers in their own homes.

In 2016, the gambling industry reached a record £13.8bn, while remote betting has jumped from £817m in 2009 to £4.5bn today.

How is gambling helping the economy grow?

The obvious signs that the gambling industry is having a positive impact on the UK economy, is the amount of jobs being generated.

Due to the growth in popularity of gambling, the industry supported 38,800 jobs in 2011 and generated £2.3bn towards the gross domestic product (GDP).

The gambling industry is also a wide-spreading popular activity as well. With reports stating that the industry has a bigger impacting reach on other areas of the UK economy, with a total economic footprint of £5bn in regards of Gross Value Added (GVA).

All in all, this liberal stance on gambling has allowed more businesses to form and popularise the activity as a whole.

The digital revolution has also enabled these same businesses to jump on its growth and make gambling more accessible to people via apps and the internet.