The UK amusements and low stake gaming industry contributes close to £2 billion to UK GDP, supports the employment of 34,000 people and pays some £270 million of MGD and machine VAT, according to economic impact research conducted by PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP (PwC) on behalf of bacta.
The purpose of the research was to provide a fact-base of insights and was undertaken in the period July to September 2015. The sources used include publically available data from gambling and other bodies including the Gambling Commission, H2 Gambling Capital, HMRC and Local Authority licensing returns database as well as interviews with industry players with businesses operating across the major industry verticals.
Using analytical tables provided by the Office for National Statistics, the industry contribution to UK GDP has been calculated at £1.9 billion, a figure which bacta CEO John White believes reflects the status and importance of the industry on the national stage.
“Successive governments have made it crystal clear how much importance they place on evidentially backed arguments,” he said. “To be able to present our case for progressive and fair legislation backed by authoritative economic insights provided by a highly respected organisation such as PwC has been invaluable.”
“Essentially, PwC has created an economic census of the business which demonstrates that amusements is a very serious industry indeed and one that contributes substantially to the well being of UK plc. This substantial body of work is part of our Challenge Agenda which is designed to help bacta members navigate social, economic lifestyle and demographic changes.”
To give some context to the figures, the £270 million in MGD and machine VAT alone would be sufficient to purchase over 300 MRI Scanners (National Audit Office figures show the NHS has just 426). Using education as the funding benchmark, a secondary school which is built directly from scratch can cost anywhere from between £9 million to £30 million, depending on its size and geographical location.
The total employment supported in the UK is calculated in a similar way and based on Input-Output modelling. The data reveals the industry supports 34,000 jobs, a proportion of which are in areas of high unemployment, including at the coast.
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