From ROMBET…
The gambling industry in times of austerity
Continuation of the previous article
By Dan Iliovici, Vice-president ROMBET
There are also economic benefits to having a well regulated industry to service this demand. The sector pays approximately £2 billion per year to the government in duties (excluding Lottery Duty), accounted for £5.7 billion or 0.3% of UK Gross Value Addded (GVA) in 2019, and employed approximately 98,000 people in Great Britain in 2019. While many gambling companies do operate overseas hubs, the jobs in this country are geographically dispersed, with hubs of high skill work in areas like Stoke-on-Trent and Leeds.
The gambling sector also contributes significantly to other industries, including sport, advertising and racing. Horse racing in particular has a mutually beneficial relationship with betting, and the levy paid by bookmakers on their racing derived revenue contributes around £100 million a year to support the sport.
Gambling can also contribute to tourism, for instance to seaside towns across the country, or high-end casinos attracting wealthy overseas visitors who spend across a number of other sectors while in this country. Additionally, some gambling products enable charities and other non-commercial organisations such as sports clubs to raise valuable funds. For instance, large society lotteries generated over £400 million in 2020/21 in returns to good causes.”
ROMBET actively participates in all events that aim to inform and sensitize decision-makers (parliamentarians), media representatives, regarding the effects of measures whose effect can be the destruction of an important sector of the economy.
I cannot accuse the initiators of such measures of being malicious. Under the argument of the public good, more and more restrictive proposals can be made. But not knowing and not understanding the specifics of this industry can lead to economic effects that are impossible for governments to manage, especially in the current conditions: unemployment, the drastic decrease of the industry’s contributions to the state budget, the impact of entire related economic branches, etc. Not to mention the non-compliance with the most important legislative technical norms, the absence of any studies on the social and economic impact of the proposed measures. Needless to say, there are no studies on the possible beneficial effects of such measures either. It all rests on the kind of argument stated as an indisputable postulate.
We have also presented to the authorities on countless occasions our programs dedicated to responsible gaming, carried out through the Responsible Gaming Association*1, projects fully funded by the industry.
Here I would also mention the fact that recently there seems to be an openness of the Office towards the involvement of the authority in taking over and running such projects dedicated to the prevention and treatment of problem players. This would be a big step forward.
As we proposed from the very beginning, Rombet will continue to act for the greatest possible unity of action of the gambling industry, on all levels.
We have many joint actions by the representative associations of the gambling industry, which prove that our goal of industry unity can become a reality. In this context, I also mention the actions and programs carried out by FEDBET – the Federation of Gambling Organizers, a federation that is increasingly active in supporting our industry.
If we all understand to get over a certain selfishness and personal ambitions, the desirability of unity of action could become a reality. And the direct beneficiaries of this unit will be all gambling organizers – the gambling industry as a whole. Perhaps we should ask who benefits from a divided industry?
Finally, I return to the hot topic of some populist regulations:
People will gamble regardless of whether the law “allows” them to gamble legally or not. But only in a well-regulated market can adequate protection of players be ensured. That is why I have argued, and I will always argue, that not banning or drastically limiting, without any logic, gambling or a category of games is the solution to prevent and protect minors and categories of players at risk.
We know that there are problem gamblers and pathological gamblers out there, and we do our best to help these people through our responsible gambling programs. We need to talk about these things openly, without euphemisms. So, over time, people will realize that we as an industry are really responsible to the players, to society in general, and they will start to see us differently, hopefully better.
Thank you!
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1. www.jocresponsabil.ro
