The British Evolution of Gambling

From Dice to Bookmakers: The Origins of British Gambling

Can you imagine playing a dice game where the dice are made out of animal bones? Dating back as far as 3,000BC, there are suggestions that people were gambling using dice games, making this the origin for gambling in the UK. Gambling evolved through the formalisation of traditional horse racing, with the first horse racing bet being placed as early as the 1600s. King James I played a pivotal role in the popularity of horse betting by introducing more organised wagering systems. Structured sports betting was further consolidated in 1750 with the founding of the Jockey Club at Newmarket. It established rules and regulations that would become the standard for centuries to follow.

These origins have developed sports betting into a key backdrop for many sporting events, even today. The UK Government announced the first betting shop to open on May 1, 1961, but sports betting has adapted to its modern-day surroundings through digitalisation. However, betting has not always had a cheerful history and has often been met with prejudice and classism.

In 1923, the British Prime Minister Ramsay Macdonald said gambling was a “…disease which spread downwards to the industrious poor from the idle rich…” Margaret Thatcher was reluctant to endorse the UK National Lottery during her time as Prime Minister. Studies have reported that there is an undisputed link between gambling and income inequalities, showing that lower-income groups spend a higher percentage of their income when they gamble. The belief is that members of the working class and precariat might use gambling as a daydream of security to transcend class boundaries, with each spin hoping to be that million-pound win.

Gambling issues aren’t just a side effect of the 21st century, as the last few hundred years have battled with the same issues or regulations. In 1853, Parliament passed the Betting House Act that sought to suppress betting shops and prohibit cash betting everywhere except at racing enclosures and private clubs. By limiting where wagering can take place, the government hoped to stamp out the growing problem of working-class citizens abusing what was supposed to be a form of entertainment. Gambling-related issues have always been a problem affecting all classes, and legislating to restrict working-class forms of gambling whilst protecting the gambling interests of the aristocracy is a form of prejudice.

The Big Shift in Legalisation and Regulation

Modern history has majorly shaped the major regulations for gambling, with the main shift occurring in the 1960s. Following the green light for betting shops to open for business in 1961, it’s recorded that betting shops were opening at a rate of 100 a week. By the end of 1961, there were 10,000 betting shops spread across the UK, and the gambling industry (and government tax receipts) experienced a boom.

With the unprecedented increase in popularity, the government was quick to release new legislation that attempted to regulate gambling. In 1963 and 1968, further Gaming Acts were introduced in hopes of licensing games but loopholes in the law created a cover for criminal activity. The 1970s saw stricter regulations on all games that were placed under the control of the Gaming Board, reporting directly to the Home Office.

The early 2000s saw the introduction of the Gambling Act, which had three main objectives: to keep gambling crime-free, ensure that gambling is fair and open, and protect children and vulnerable young adults. This legislation also led to the creation of the UK Gambling Commission (UKGC), the regulatory body responsible for overseeing safe gambling. Each year, the UKGC works to create secure places to gamble while setting clear boundaries and implementing safe gambling tools for customers to access.

The Digital Revolution and Its Impact on Players

Digitalisation has seen fewer people heading to bricks-and-mortar casinos to play their favourite games, opting for playing slot games on mobile devices from the comfort of their sofas. In 1994, the Free Trade and Processing Act was passed which allowed any operators to open licensed online casinos. The first decade of this regulation was slightly chaotic, with no strict guidelines to prevent unsafe and fraudulent gambling. However, the introduction of the Gambling Act (2005) sought to change this.

The UK’s response to gambling was groundbreaking, with few other countries developing ways to regulate the rapidly expanding industry. When the proposals within the legislation became legally enforceable in 2007, the UK set a global standard for how gambling-related issues should be handled, making the UKGC arguably the “most prestigious and powerful regulator“. Countries create their own guidelines, with Brazil recently opting for a zero-tolerance approach and the US allowing each state to create its own laws.

The rise of the online casino has taken precedence over the in-person casinos, with one statistic predicting that in-person gambling will drop to 60% in 2025, with a likelihood of a continued rapid decrease. Online casinos have adapted to the modern world, offering instant gratification casino games that scratch the itch for many customers. Online casinos offer plenty of games like slot games, live casinos, table games and even offer crypto as a payment method, leaving traditional casinos struggling to keep up.

Current Trends: Gamblers are Younger, Smarter, and More Cautious

Studies have found that children as young as 11 are spending their own money on gambling activity, whether that be down the arcades on the 2p machines or betting with friends. It seems that Gen Z, typically defined as the generation born between 1997 and 2012, have developed tech-savvy brains and is the main target market for digital gambling software developers.

The priority has moved away from adapting online casinos for the millennial users, as Gen Z users make up the majority of the demographics. 32.6% of young people aged 18-24 in the UK admitted to participating in some form of gambling in 2024, with slots being the preferred method. Slots have ditched their traditional 3-reel format with lemons and lucky seven symbols and have revolutionised into high-quality storytelling games. The graphics of popular games like Book of Dead or Big Bass Bonanza resemble high-quality mobile games like Candy Crush or Pokémon GO.

With the rise of cryptocurrency, online casinos are now ditching the bank cards and opting for crypto-only payment methods. This has created quite an exclusive casino experience, requiring the user to have both knowledge of how crypto works and how to use a crypto wallet just to make a deposit.

With young people being the driving force for the future of online casinos, there has been considerable value placed on transparency and fairness. Gen Z won’t remember a time when UK casinos didn’t operate under the Gambling Act 2005, so there is the expectation that sites will be safe and secure.

How the UK Became a Regulatory Blueprint

The UK is ahead of the curve when it comes to regulations for gambling, and other countries have been taking notes.

The self-exclusion responsible gambling tool limits your usage of casino sites for a select period of time. You’ll find it available on a lot of online casinos, and it can be easily requested to be activated on your account. Tools like GamStop can take this one step further and implement this exclusion period on all gambling-related sites. Countries like Sweden, the Netherlands and Canada have all released their own tools like GamStop to activate self-exclusion on casino sites.

There are comprehensive guidelines by the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) and the UKGC on how gambling ads must not target children, imply financial success, or exploit vulnerable people. However, the Gambling Commission reports that over half of young people have seen or heard gambling advertisements, meaning there is still a fair amount to be done to protect young people from being exposed to gambling. Many European countries like Spain, Italy and Germany have followed the UK guidelines and implemented similar restrictions.

Looking Ahead: What’s Next for UK Gambling?

There has been so much change in the iGaming industry over the past decade, so it will be exciting to see where the future takes us. There will be further legislation introduced by the UKGC as they published the UK Gambling White Paper back in 2023, but key reforms are yet to be decided. The main legislation will focus on financial checks that monitor when a player hits a certain loss threshold, and there will be a further clampdown on age verification processes.

As player protection is the priority, there will be further investigation into how harm can be prevented. The UKGC is pushing for real-time monitoring on online casinos so they can recognise potentially harmful gambling behaviours. Additionally, the industry is finding ways to jump on the AI bandwagon and decipher how they can best utilise it. Operators already use AI for fraud detection and player segmentation, but this is only the start.

The debate continues between innovation and over-regulation. Innovation argues that excessive regulation limits freedom and creativity, ultimately leading to disengaged players and the threat of players flocking to unregulated sites. The regulators aim to ensure that safety and fun can go hand in hand, but the priority must be to keep players safe.