DCMS has revised its economic estimates, measuring the economic contribution and productivity of the UK Gambling sector.
Economic estimates and datasets have been updated for DCMS’s key sectors for the reporting period of 2011 to 2021, tracking a decade of business activity.
DCMS is responsible for reporting on the economic contribution and productivity of the following sectors: Civil Society, Creative Industries, Cultural sector, Digital sector, Gambling, Sport, Telecoms, and Tourism.
The economic contribution of industries under DCMS guidance is reported using key measures such as Gross Value Added (GVA) output, employment, earnings, and productivity.
Audiences are cautioned about technical limitations in gathering and interpreting data on DCMS sectors, as individual sectors such as Civil Society and Tourism maintain separate measures to gauge their economic output.
The Gross Value Added (GVA) for all DCMS sectors (excluding Civil Society and Tourism) in 2020 was estimated at £179.6bn. The figure represents a 9.7% decline from 2019, reflecting the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Calculated as the economic value of goods and services produced by a sector, the UK gambling GVA for 2019 stood at £8.9bn.
Alongside Telecoms and the Digital Sector, UK gambling was detailed as a contributor to DCMS sectors, reporting a growth rate of 25% between 2011 and 2019, outpacing the overall UK economy’s growth of 15.9%.
However, mirroring wider DCMS sectors, the gambling industry was affected by the COVID pandemic in 2020, as GVA stood at £7.7bn. The £1bn decline reflected a year of impacts, including the closure of gambling venues, work-from-home adjustments, and the cancellation of sporting events.
The pandemic had further impacts on UK gambling’s employment, which in 2020 reported 100,000 jobs filled, representing a decline of 19% since 2011.
DCMS highlighted other factors affecting employment in UK gambling, including increased automation and shifts to online gambling, which generally require fewer workers compared to traditional land-based gambling.
UK Gambling was noted as a fair employment sector, with 2020 figures showing that 45% of jobs were filled by individuals from less advantaged socio-economic backgrounds.
On employment, UK gambling’s regional distribution was noted as prominent in regions like the East of England and West Midlands, where the majority of jobs are concentrated in large gambling firms and betting shops.
In terms of productivity, 2019 data showed an output per filled job in the gambling sector of £89,200, higher than the UK average of £58,100 and the DCMS sector average of £64,200 – making UK gambling the third-highest productive sector within DCMS.
The report concluded: “The COVID-19 pandemic negatively affected land-based gambling productivity, but the growth in online gambling helped to maintain the sector’s overall productivity. The sector’s ability to pivot towards online services cushioned the economic hit during the pandemic.”
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