UKGC Shields Operator Revenue Data From Public
Regulator cites commercial sensitivity in refusal to release individual company Gross Gambling Yields.
The UK Gambling Commission has denied a Freedom of Information request for the financial performance of individual gambling operators. Citing commercial interests, the regulator will not release Gross Gambling Yield data, limiting public insight into the market share of specific brands.
Article Content
The UK Gambling Commission (UKGC) has refused to release financial performance data for individual gambling companies, citing concerns that disclosure would prejudice their commercial interests. The decision, revealed in a response to a Freedom of Information (FOI) request dated 23 April 2023, prevents public access to a key metric of operator size and market share.
The request asked for a spreadsheet containing the Gross Gambling Yields (GGYs) for each UK-licensed operator over the last five financial years. As an alternative, the requester asked for the GGY totals for just the top 20 licensees.
What is Gross Gambling Yield?
Gross Gambling Yield, or GGY, is the total amount of money an operator retains after paying out customer winnings but before deducting operating costs like marketing, salaries, and taxes. It is the primary measure of gambling revenue and a key indicator of a company's scale within the industry.
For consumers, this data would provide a clear picture of the market share held by different brands, revealing the true size of the companies they gamble with. It would allow for direct comparison between operators and offer insight into the concentration of the UK gambling market.
The Commission's Justification
The UKGC confirmed that it holds the requested information but determined it was exempt from disclosure under Section 43(2) of the Freedom of Information Act. This section protects information that, if released, would be likely to prejudice the commercial interests of any person or organisation.
In its response, the regulator detailed a public interest test it conducted to weigh the arguments for and against disclosure.
Arguments in favour of disclosure:
- Promoting the transparency of the Gambling Commission.
- Allowing the public to have confidence that the regulator is open and can be held to account.
Arguments in favour of withholding (which prevailed):
- Operators have a reasonable expectation that this level of financial detail will remain confidential.
- Releasing the data would provide competitors with a commercial advantage.
- Disclosure could discourage licensees from freely providing information to the Commission in the future, potentially harming its regulatory function.
- The public could make "unjustified inferences" about operators without the full business context.
The Commission concluded that the public interest was best served by maintaining the exemption, stating there was a "more than 50% chance that prejudice to the Commercial Interests of licensees would be caused by disclosure."
What This Means for Transparency
This decision highlights the ongoing tension between public transparency and corporate commercial interests within the UK gambling sector. While the UKGC regularly publishes aggregated industry-wide statistics, the financial performance and market share of individual private companies remain shielded from public scrutiny.
Consumers, researchers, and journalists seeking to understand the specific scale of a bookmaker or online casino will not find that data in the regulator's public disclosures. The ruling confirms that, in the view of the Commission, detailed operator revenue is considered confidential business data rather than information for public consumption.