Figures show drop in number of gaming machines in Northern Ireland
The number of machines with higher pay outs fell by 38 per cent last year.
UK.- Northern Ireland’s Department for Communities (DfC) has published its latest Northern Ireland Gambling Licensing and Industry Data report with land-based gaming figures from 2024.
According to the report, there were 112 amusement permits covering 6,410 gaming machines with a maximum £25 payout and 23 permits covering 549 gaming machines with a maximum £8 payout. Those figures were down by one and two licences respectively year-on-year, which suggests a possible slowdown in the decline seen in previous years. However, the number of £25 payout machines dropped by 38 per cent.
Meanwhile, there were 36 bingo club licences operational. The number of bookmaking office licences was 280 and the number of bookmakers’ licences stood at 106.
There are currently 85 VAT or PAYE-registered gambling businesses in Northern Ireland. The number had decreased over the last 10 years, from 95 in 2015, but this year sees an uptick of five from 80 in 2024.
The latest gambling turnover figure is from 2023, when the total was £170.9m, a drop of over 75 per cent from 2016.
Figures on online gambling in Northern Ireland are not included as the territory has yet to regulate the sector.
Some Northern Irish legislators have argued for some time that the jurisdiction has fallen behind both the UK and the Republic of Ireland in terms of gambling regulation. The Republic of Ireland passed new legislation last year, leading to the creation of the new Gambling Regulatory Authority of Ireland, which expects to start taking licence applications soon. The new legislation also introduces a new gambling social impact fund to be financed through a levy on gambling and new advertising and promotion rules.
The MLA criticised the British government for not including Northern Ireland in its plans for the distribution of funds from the British gambling levy introduced on April 6. He also called for the British Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) to tighten advertising restrictions since the survey found that 66 per cent of respondents thought there were too many, while 71 per cent expressed favour for a watershed for gambling ads on TV and radio.
