There’s no denying that the gambling industry has grown in leaps and bounds, just in the last decade. Right now, the online gambling industry in the UK is worth £5.7 billion, making up to 40% of the overall gambling spending in the country. As such, there are plenty of gambling businesses that have now become household names.Who are the biggest names in UK Gambling, following the guides here?
The National Lottery
It comes as no surprise that the National Lottery showed up as the most famous gambling name in the UK. It’s been around since 1994, and has been a household name ever since. This is thanks to televised drawings, which became required viewing when they happened.
They’re also unique as they divide up funds between winners and ‘good causes’. Right now, around 53% of funds go to the prize fund, and 25% goes to the good causes as set out by parliament. These are all kinds of things, including funding athletes to attend Olympic games, and the Heritage Lottery Fund that allows regional areas to invest in their heritage.
Right up until this year, people aged 16 or ever could enter the lottery by buying a ticket. Now though, players need to be 18 or over.
What’s interesting is that the National Lottery was found to be more popular with women than men, when they were polled through YouGov.
Flutter Stars Group
You may not know the name, but you’ll know the betting companies they own. Paddy Power, Betfair, SkyBet, Pokerstars and more all come under this banner. This is thanks to a series of mergers, the latest one happening in just 2020. When this was completed, the Flutter Stars group became the biggest betting company in the world, with a market share of 38%.
They have a very diverse range of services, which has helped solidify their status as the top group. Paddy Power, for example, became a huge name in online betting, thanks to their often controversial advertising tactics. Betfair, on the other hand, focused on creating a peer to peer bet exchange, making them a smaller but still competitive betting site.
With so many names under their banner, Flutter Stars are going to stay in the public consciousness for a long time to come, and hopefully bring new ideas to the market.
Entain
Again, you may not know the name of the group, but you will know the companies in it. Entain comprises of Ladbrokes, Coral, Gala, 888 and other big betting names. It’s no surprise that Ladbrokes is such a big name, as they’re one of the oldest out there. They’ve been running since 1886, and have taken to online betting like a duck to water. Many now flock to their site to place their bets.
They merged with Coral in 2016, another older bookmaker that many will know of. Coral was launched by Joe Coral in the 1920’s, when off course betting sites were legalised. He was one of the first to do so, and so found a lot of success.
When the two merged, they actually managed to knock William Hill off the top spot and became a huge betting entity in the UK. They actually generate half of their income from online sources, so it’s clear that even though they’re old dogs when it comes to the gambling scene, they can still be taught new tricks.
These are some of the biggest names in UK gambling right now. Did you recognise them all, and were there any that surprised you? If you’re looking for somewhere new to gamble, any of these sites would be a good place to start.