
Paying tax on interest from a savings account
If you earn interest from a savings account, you need to pay tax on that interest at the same rate as the rest of your annual taxable income.
Read more…Updated . What changed?
Gambling comes in many different forms, from betting on horse racing to entering the National Lottery. We looked at the statistics to see how Brits are spending their money on gambling and if we’re gambling responsibly or not. While gambling can be fun, there are some obvious (and less obvious) downsides. You could run up debt, or damage your chances of borrowing money or even securing a mortgage. Gambling carefully and responsibly is essential.
47% of Brits have gambled in the last 4 weeks, which is up slightly from the year before when 46% of Brits had gambled in the space of 4 weeks. More males than females are gambling, with around half of men (51%) gambling in the last 4 weeks compared to just 4 in 10 females (41%). 20% of all Brits say they gamble at least twice per week.
Year | Gambling participation in the UK | Males | Females |
---|---|---|---|
2015 | 44.8% | 49.1% | 40.7% |
2016 | 48.4% | 52.6% | 44.3% |
2017 | 44.8% | 48.4% | 41.4% |
2018 | 45.8% | 50.8% | 40.9% |
By far, the most popular type of gambling in the UK is the National Lottery, with almost a third of Brits (30%) taking part in it in 2019. The next most popular types of gambling are other lotteries (13%) and scratchcards (10%). Sports betting also remains a popular method of gambling in the UK, with almost 7% of Brits taking part in this in 2019.
Type of gambling | Percentage of UK adults, year to December 2019 |
---|---|
National Lottery draws | 29.62% |
Another lottery | 12.73% |
Scratchcards | 9.94% |
Sports betting | 6.71% |
Private betting | 5.63% |
Fruit or slot machines | 4.20% |
Horse racing | 4.02% |
Online slot machine style games/instant wins | 3.15% |
Bingo | 2.92% |
Football pools | 1.72% |
Casino games | 1.50% |
Betting on other events | 1.37% |
Virtual gaming machines in a bookmakers | 0.84% |
Other | 0.83% |
Dog races | 0.70% |
Poker at a pub/club | 0.51% |
Virtual dog or horse races | 0.40% |
Spread betting | 0.28% |
On average, Brits are spending £2.60 per week on gambling. Those in the highest income percentile spend the most on gambling at £4.20 per week, while those in the lowest percentile spend the least at £1.50 per week.
Income group | Weekly spend |
---|---|
Lowest 10% | £1.50 |
Second decile group | £2.00 |
Third decile group | £1.90 |
Fourth decile group | £2.70 |
Fifth decile group | £2.70 |
Sixth decile group | £2.30 |
Seventh decile group | £3.20 |
Eighth decile group | £2.70 |
Ninth decile group | £2.40 |
Highest 10% | £4.20 |
The gambling industry in total is worth £14.3 billion and employs 98,174 people across the UK as of September 2019. This is down from £14.5 billion and 106,000 employees in March the same year, a change driven by more gambling taking place online than on-premises.
Online casinos made £3,190 million in total gross gambling yield from October 2018 to September 2019, making it the most popular game of choice. Non-remote betting made £2,812 million in total gross gambling yield during the same time, while remote betting made £2,121 million.
The number of premises to gamble on has steadily decreased over the past 8 years as online gambling has increased in popularity. The only exception is casinos, which had 149 premises in 2011, versus 155 in 2019 (+4%). The most closures were made by arcades; they have decreased by 32% (763 premises) from 2,396 to 1,633 during the past 8 years.
Premises | 2011 | 2019 | Increase/decrease |
---|---|---|---|
Arcades | 2,396 | 1,633 | -31.84% |
Betting shops | 9,067 | 7,315 | -19.32% |
Bingo premises | 695 | 642 | -7.63% |
Casinos | 149 | 155 | 4.03% |
While gambling can be a source of entertainment, it can also cause serious money problems, addiction and debt.
If you earn interest from a savings account, you need to pay tax on that interest at the same rate as the rest of your annual taxable income.
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