The UK Gambling Commission (UKGC) has published its 2021/22 Annual Report & Accounts, revealing the cost of its role in the fourth National Lottery licence competition.
Allwyn was named as the preferred applicant of the licence in March 2022, but the process was a rigorous one which spanned nearly two full years.
Between April 1, 2021 and March 31, 2022, the UKGC spent £26m on National Lottery functions (2020/21: £17m), £23m of which was spent on the fourth UK National Lottery licence competition (2020/21: £14.8m).
Total expenditure on operational costs including depreciation was £45.2m in 2021/22 (2020/21: £38.2m), an increase of £7m (18%) on the prior financial year.
Employee costs for the year were £19.2m (2020/21: £21.3m), a decrease of £2m, of which £13.8m accounted for staff costs on gambling regulation and a further £3.2m on costs related to the National Lottery competition.
Employee costs for gambling regulation were £13.8m (2020/21: £15.8m) and National Lottery regulation £5.4m (2020/21: £5.5m). Of this, £3.2m was related to the National Lottery competition (2020/21: £3.2m).
On the flip side of the coin, total income from fees and other sources stood at £20.2m (2020/21: £18.9m), not including the £27m (2020/21: £19.5m) of grant-in-aid funding in respect of the National Lottery functions and the Gambling Regulation which is transferred directly to reserves.
Operator application fee income was £1.2m, almost double that of the previous year (2020/21: £660,000).
Furthermore, fees for personal licences were £0.7m (2020/21: £0.6m), and operator annual licence fees were £18m (2020/21: £17.2m).
The UKGC also issued £26.1m in fines or regulatory settlements during the financial year.
Other information contained in the report includes the statistic that two fifths of the adult population gambled each month in 2021/22.
The National Lottery, other lotteries and scratchcards remained the most popular gambling activities during this period, with the UKGC observing a ‘gradual but consistent increase in the proportion of people gambling online, with much of this increase being driven by National Lottery players moving from retail to online’.
“We would like to say thank you to the hugely committed and professional team across the Commission for their ongoing work and achievements over the past financial year,” said Andrew Rhodes, CEO of the Gambling Commission.
“Overall, against a testing and fast-paced background, everyone across the Commission has performed exceptionally this year to ensure our tight regulation has been improved and communicated.
“We look forward to further success in the coming year.”