UK statistics show gambling sector wages below national average
The DCMS study shows that workers in the gambling sector earned less than the median wage.
UK.- The UK government’s Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) has published statistics showing that the median hourly wage of those working in the gambling sector last year was £10.64. That’s 21.2 per cent lower than the national average.
However, the DCMS has warned that the statistics on the gambling industry in particular may not be entirely accurate due to the low sample size.
The numbers appear in the department’s report on economic data from January to December 2021. The report identified a marginal increase in the number of filled jobs in the sector, which increased by 1,000 (0.9 per cent) to 73,000 last year, but remained down by 3,000 (4 per cent) when compared to 2019 before the Covid-19 pandemic.
Of the jobs in the gambling sector, 41.7 per cent were occupied by women, 20.8 per cent by people with a disability and 12.3 per cent by people from ethnic minority backgrounds, excluding white minorities. The gender pay gap for the period was reported to be 6 per cent, meaning that women in the sector earned £0.94 for every £1 earned by male colleagues.
The report comes as the gambling sector continues to await the DCMS’s publication of its gambling white paper following its 18-month review of British gambling legislation, currently enshrined in the Gambling Act 2005. The DCMS continues to insist that the white paper will be published “soon”.
The government was widely expected to propose maximum stake limits for online casino gaming, a ban on gambling sponsorship in sports and a mandatory levy on gambling operators. However, it has been reported that those two later proposals have been dropped. Other changes expected include a requirement for operators to share data to a single customer view and new measures on affordability.
New tech jobs in gambling
The industry standards and lobby group, the Betting and Gaming Council, has said that Britain’s regulated betting and gaming industry will generate 15,000 new tech jobs in the next five years, as part of its Levelling Up agenda. It noted that the online betting, gaming and bingo sector already directly employs 10,000 high-skilled technology jobs and supports a further 30,000.
The industry now predicts more job creation outside London based on current growth trends. It’s been praised in a new report by the Purpose Coalition – a group of purpose-led leaders and organisations that includes the BBC, Amazon, NHS Trusts, UK councils and UK universities.
The Purpose Coalition helps organisations and companies measure their Levelling Up work by setting goals and assessing achievements against them. Its report found that the regulated betting and gaming sector was exceeding in key areas, including in creating highly skilled jobs, providing a valuable economic footprint, and investing in the communities where they operate.
The report also highlights the pledge to create 5,000 apprenticeships in the industry between now and 2025 and a further £20m on training and development.
