加载中…程阳：2008英国博彩业综述
(2010-04-23 09:58:29)
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程阳：2008英国博彩业综述
The Gaming Industry in the United Kingdom 2008
Highlights
2008 should have been the year the UK betting and gaming industry stabilized and bedded down into the new regulatory environment, following the introduction of the Gambling Act 2005 and the introduction of the smoking ban during 2007. However, the economic crisis that hit in the second half of 2008 continued to bring a number of challenges to the sector.
Historically, the UK betting and gaming industry was thought to be more recession resistant than other leisure industries. That said, gambling spend during the recessions of the early 1980s and 1990s fell only modestly. Still, operators have since introduced new forms of gambling that have yet to face a recession. In particular, Fixed-Odds Betting Terminals (FOBTs) and online gaming have not yet experienced a downturn, and it is notable that many operators in the bingo and lottery markets have expanded their online presence.
Given that many operators in the industry have already taken steps to reduce costs to align themselves to the new regulatory environment, they could be well placed to emerge stronger as the upturn comes. With further deregulation of betting and gaming markets worldwide and the prospect of more liquid markets once the economy recovers, the rewards for those that see this recession through are potentially unparalleled.
Research, education and treatment of problem gambling
The
Responsibility in Gambling Trust (RIGT) was established in 2001 as
an independent charity responsible for raising awareness of and
tackling gambling problems in the United Kingdom. RIGT has
historically been
Value-Added Tax (VAT) on mechanized cash bingo
In May 2008, Rank Group, one of the UK’s major gaming operators, won US$116.2 million (UK£59.1 million) from HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) in a landmark ruling by the European Court of Justice. The case concerned the application of VAT sales tax to mechanized cash bingo games in Rank’s Mecca Bingo clubs. The case could lead to further claims against HMRC by bingo operators, although HMRC has appealed the ruling. HMRC expects its appeal to be heard in the first half of 2009.47
Changes to gaming machine legislation
In January
2009, the House of Lords approved the government’s proposals to
increase the number of US$1.5 (UK£1) stake/US$725 (UK£500) prize
gaming
Prevalence survey
The Gambling Act introduced a new regulator for the sector in the UK, the UK Gambling Commission. The commission regulates gambling in the public interest, aiming to keep crime out of gambling, to ensure that it is conducted fairly and openly and to protect children and other vulnerable people from being harmed or exploited by gambling.
The UK Gambling Commission announced that it will undertake a new British gambling prevalence survey in 2010. This survey is performed to help understand the nature and scale of gambling in the UK, including the prevalence of problem gambling, as well as to understand socio-demographic factors associated with gambling. The previous survey, performed in 2007, found that there had been no escalation in problem gambling since the first survey in 1999.50
The government
has expressed concern over the potential for FOBT machines to
trigger problem gambling and has asked the Gambling Commission to
review the risks associated with these
The British
Casino Association (BCA), the UK’s major trade organization for the
casino industry, lost two of its largest members in 2008: Gala
Coral Group and Rank Group, the operators of Gala Casinos and
Grosvenor Casinos, respectively. Gala Coral, which withdrew also
from the Bingo Association, cited the need to have a single trade
association for the betting and gaming industry. Rank Group said it
made the move to cut operating costs.52 Following these
withdrawals, in December 2008, five major trade bodies in the UK
then combined to form the
pic1---------------- Gross gambling yield (stakes less winnings) for 2006 in millions, US$ (£ millions)
GROSS GAMING REVENUE (GGR)
程阳：U.S. GAMING REVENUE 10-YEAR
TRENDS
Betting
The betting industry in the UK consists of about 8,800 betting shops and 579 oncourse bookmakers, with 61 racecourses and 28 greyhound race tracks. Together, these generated betting stakes of US$72.1 billion (UK£37 billion) and gross gambling yield of US$6.81 billion (UK£3.5 billion) in the year to 31 March 2007. The betting shop market is dominated by three major operators, Ladbrokes, William Hill and Coral, which run more than 65% of the shops, with the on-course market dominated by the Tote. There is also a 53 “Launch of COGA,” ABB press release, www.abb.uk.com/ news.php#news40, 28 January 2009. growing online presence from major operators, in a sector that is continuing to grow despite the current economic climate. The majority of stakes are on horseracing, with a growing interest in football to offset the decreases in amounts staked on greyhound racing. Betting in UK retail outlets is taxed under General Betting Duty, at 15% of gross profits.
As the Over The Counter (OTC) market for bets placed in betting shops remains relatively stable in the UK, the growth of FOBTs continues to be a major area of focus for operators, who are increasing the variety of games available to the customer. With the stability of OTC, operators also have a continued emphasis on cost control.
In 2007, Turf TV, a new provider of racecourse TV coverage, was established as a joint venture between Alphameric and a consortium of 31 racecourses, ending the monopoly of Satellite Information Services. In January 2008, major bookmakers, including Ladbrokes, William Hill and Coral, signed an agreement with Turf TV to broadcast its content in their shops, costing the industry an additional US$98.5 million (UK£50 million) each year. This was followed by litigation on both sides, with claims from both the consortium of bookmakers and Turf TV being denied.54
Lottery
There are several types of lottery in the UK, by far the most significant being the National Lottery. In addition, there are society lotteries, regulated either by local authorities or the Gambling Commission (depending on the level of ticket sales), and small and private lotteries that are not required to be registered with any statutory body. Unlike most gambling activities, where the minimum age requirement is 18, players are allowed to play lotteries from 16 years of age. Lotteries also typically involve a lower stake than other forms of betting and gaming.
The National Lottery — operated by Camelot and the only gambling not regulated by the UK Gambling Commission — dominates the UK market. Proceeds from lotteries increased to US$340.2 million (UK£170 million) in the year to 31 March 2008 from US$319.4 million (UK£164 million) in 2007. Consistent with the increased levels of remote betting, the National Lottery has benefited from increasing levels of online participation, particularly on “instant win” games. Together with scratch card sales, turnover from online games has increased to offset a slight decline in turnover from the traditional weekly draw.
The National Lottery operates under laws different from those governing society and private lotteries and is the only lottery permitted to retain ticket proceeds. For every US$1.85 (UK£1) spent on the National Lottery, 50% is expected to be paid as prize money, 28% to the Good Causes Charity, 12% to the government (as lottery duty), 5% to retailers (as sales commissions), 4% to cover Camelot’s operating costs, with less than 1% retained as profit.
Gaming machines
The gaming machine sector in the UK brings together a number of other leisure sectors. Gaming machines are located in amusement arcades, pubs, clubs, casinos, bingo halls, betting shops, adult gaming centres and private clubs. The law limits both the number of machines each of these venues can house and the stakes and prizes on each machine.
The British Amusement Catering Trade Association (BACTA) estimated that in March 2008, there were 261,000 gaming machines in the UK, including 203,000 AWPs, 27,000 FOBTs and 31,000 other machines. Of these machines, 26% were located in pubs, 26% in family entertainment centers, 22% in adult gaming centers and 11% in betting shops. Gaming machines fall under the scope of VAT rather than gaming duty.
While the machine sector is experiencing a general decline, betting shop operators have benefited from the increased numbers of FOBTs. In contrast, the installation of more traditional gaming machines has declined, and the pub sector, which houses more machines than any other, has itself suffered from the impacts of the recession and the smoking ban.
There are ongoing discussions between the industry and its regulators regarding split premises,” where operators increase the number of high-value machines by subdividing their premises and securing separate licences for each division. The UK Gambling Commission is looking to further clarify the definition of premises, with the potential impact of reducing the ability of operators to include current numbers of high-value machines.
Casinos
In March 2008, there were 142 casinos operating in the UK. Of these, 25 were located in London, 99 elsewhere in England, 13 in Scotland and 5 in Wales.
In February 2008, the government formally abandoned plans for the UK’s first “super casino,” originally awarded to the city of Manchester. The Gambling Act had made provision for the super casino, but plans were halted by the House of Lords in March 2007. However, 16 large and small regional casino licences are still planned to be awarded under the provisions of the Gambling Act; the government announced in February 2009 that it expects to finalize in summer 2009 the regulations that will govern the selection of companies that will be awarded these licences.56
The industry struggled during 2008 to respond to several unfavorable developments, including the smoking ban, an increase in gaming duty (the top band increased from 40% to 50%) and the downturn in consumer spending. Some operators are now cautious about the returns they could make on the 16 large and small casinos, leading to concerns about potential oversupply in the UK market.
pic2------- Distribution of drop by games for land-based casinos (year to March 2008)
pic3------- Total drop by year and region for land-based casinos (year to March 2008)
Bingo
In March 2008, there were an estimated 675 bingo clubs in operation, a decrease during the year following the closure of 37 clubs. The three largest operators — Gala Coral, Rank (under the Mecca brand) and Top Ten Holdings — operate 45% of these.
The bingo industry continues to be significantly impacted by the smoking ban, with around half of customers being smokers. This is a particular challenge since operators earn the most lucrative returns from gaming machines in the intervals between games, when most smokers go outside for a break. The industry has been working on a solution to this challenge, such as handheld terminals for use outdoors. The recent increase in the allowed number of B3 (maximum US$1.85 [UK£1] stake and US$1,000 [UK£500] prize) machines in bingo clubs from four to eight is a welcome boost to the industry.
The government has continued to experience sustained lobbying from large UK operators to reduce the tax burden on the UK bingo industry. Unlike the rest of the betting and gaming industry, the bingo sector suffers double taxation: operators pay gross profit tax at 15% as well as VAT (currently reduced to 15%). The government’s March 2008 budget offered no relaxation to the current rules despite this pressure.57
Amounts staked for the year to 31 March 2008, were estimated at US$3.2 billion (UK£1.6 billion), a decrease of 11% from the previous year. While landbased bingo has steadily declined, there has been a significant growth in online bingo. According to the UK Gambling Commission the number of online bingo players doubled in the year to August 2008, from 250,000 to 500,000, across 243 registered websites (BGU August).
The online betting and gaming market has grown significantly in recent years, as the improved accessibility of broadband internet to more than 50% of UK homes allows operators to provide enhanced online content to customers. This resulted in 5.4 million active accounts as of March 2008.
Remote gambling operators based in the UK came under regulation for the first time in 2007 under the Gambling Act, with the majority of gambling sites accessible to UK citizens being established overseas, for fiscal and other operational reasons. Some of these operators are regulated in the country in which they operate in addition to being licensed by the UK Gambling Commission, as some parts of the operation remain in the UK. The main European overseas jurisdictions that regulate remote gambling are Alderney, Gibraltar, the Isle of Man and Malta.
As of March 2008, more than 300 remote licences had been issued to more than 160 operators, with the majority covering remote betting. Licences are held by the majority of the familiar high-street operators, along with a range of remote operators. Some of the smaller operators have their offerings hosted by larger, more experienced operators. In the six months to March 2008, estimates show gross gambling yield of US$1,230.6 million (UK£615 million), of which US$1,190.6 million (UK£595 million) is from remote betting and the remainder from casinos US$38 million (UK£19 million) and bingo US$2 million (UK£1 million).
In October 2008, the online operator Playtech took up a 29% stake in William Hill’s online gaming and sports betting operations in return for folding in US$313 million (UK£171 million) of newly acquired business affiliates, and will provide casino, poker and other online gaming software to William Hill from January 2009.58
Note: statistics in this section are taken from “Gambling Industry Statistics 2007/08,” UK Gambling Commission, July 2008
46 “RIGT 2007/08 Funding announcement,” Responsibility in Gambling Trust Website, www.rigt.org.uk, 26 April 2008.
47 “RIEF-Rank Group receives 59 mln pounds in overpaid VAT,” AFX Asia, via Dow Jones Factiva, 10 November 2008.
48 “Interview: Rank grp: Lords ruling to bring GBP3M-GBP5M boost,” Dow Jones International News, via Dow Jones Factiva, 29 January 2009.
49 “Help for bingo clubs announced but high street ‘machine shed’ proposal rejected,” COI News Distribution Service, via Dow Jones Factiva © 2008 Central Office of Information, 25 June 2008.
50 “UK govt says worried by gambling machines,” Reuters News, via Dow Jones Factiva © 2008 Reuters Limited, 20 February 2008.
51 “UK govt says worried by gambling machines,” Reuters News, 20 February 2008, via Dow Jones Factiva, © 2008 Reuters Limited.
52 “Gala Coral gambles on creating a new order; City Diary; Opinion; UK Business,” The Times, 18 October 2008, via Dow Jones Factiva, © 2008 Times Newspapers Limited.; “Casino body looks for sure bet to succeed chief; City DiaryMartin Waller,” The Times, via Dow Jones Factiva, © 2009 Times Newspapers Limited, 5 February 2009.
53 “Launch of COGA,” ABB press release, www.abb.uk.com/ news.php#news40, 28 January 2009.
54 “Bookies take a beating as judge dismisses challenge to Turf TV,” The Daily Telegraph, via Dow Jones Factiva, © 2008 Telegraph Group, 9 August 2008; “Need to know,” The Times, via Dow Jones Factiva, © 2008 Times Newspapers Limited, 7 November 2008.
55 “Tote sale put on hold,” Press Association National Newswire, via Dow Jones Factiva, © 2008 The Press Association, 22 October 2008
56 “Government officially scraps super-casino plans,” ATE Online Website, www.ateonline.co.uk/articles/14443. php; “New casino location order laid before Parliament,” Government News Network, 26 February 2008, via Dow Jones Factiva, © 2008 GNN – UK Government Press Releases, 26 February 2008.
57 “One and seven point five … the VAT you have to pay,” Birmingham Post, via Dow Jones Factiva, © 2008 Birmingham Post & Mail Limited, 13 March 2008.
58 “$250m multiplier for William Hill online,” The Guardian, via Dow Jones Factiva; “Playtech limited acquisition and agreement,” Regulatory News Service, 20 October 2008, via Dow Jones Factiva, 21 October 2008.
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