Bet365's revenue/net gaming revenue from outside of the UK

Request

UK licensed betting companies must provide information to the Gambling Commission on overseas revenue - whether generated remotely or not -beyond a specific threshold.

Please could you provide a breakdown of bet365's revenue/net gaming revenue from outside of the UK for each of the last five years.

Please could you break down the overseas revenue for each year, listing it by major countries.

Response

Thank you for your request which has been processed under the Freedom of Information Act 2000 (FOIA).

In your email you have requested details of Bet365's revenue/net gaming revenue from outside of the UK for each of the last five years. Breaking down the overseas revenue for each year by major countries.

Gambling operators are required to submit a regulatory return for each type of activity for which they hold a licence. As part of these submissions, they need to report financial information, including gross gambling yield (GGY). To report GGY correctly the stake and prize amounts must reflect only the gambling transactions that form part of the GGY calculation as described above.

Unlike many other gambling regulators, our regulatory returns ask for figures on GGY not Gross Gambling Revenue (GGR). Operators must ensure they report GGY figures to us, not GGR.

Where we ask for Non-GB GGY to be reported, licensees must report any GGY from any customers outside of Great Britain from which they are deriving GGY in reliance on their Gambling Commission operating licence. GGY from Non-GB customers in jurisdictions for which the licensee has a licence, or relies on a licence issued by another jurisdiction, must not be reported to us.

However, whilst we do hold some information falling within the scope of your request, the Commission is of the view that this information is exempt under Section 43(2) of the FOIA.

Releasing the GGY of individual operators relates to the performance of the business and is not otherwise in the public domain.

Section 43(2) of the FOIA provides that information is exempt information if: its disclosure under the FOIA would, or would be likely to, prejudice the commercial interests of any person (including the public authority holding it).

Having acknowledged that information within the scope of your request is exempt from disclosure, section 43 FOIA requires that we consider a public interest test to identify whether there is a wider public interest in fulfilling this request opposed to maintaining the exemption.

Public Interest Test

In favour of disclosure

• It is recognised that there is a legitimate public interest in promoting the transparency of the Commission and in making information available to the public. Further to this, in understanding the performance of the gambling industry
• There is a legitimate public interest in members of the public having confidence the Commission is being open and honest with the data it holds so that it can be held to account.

In favour of maintaining the exemption

• Licensed operators have a reasonable expectation that this level of detail would not be published on an individual basis.
• An extensive range of aggregated or anonymised data is already available to the public to give a necessary level of understanding of the gambling industry. Operators have a reasonable expectation that such information would not be published on an individual basis.
• Detail of individual companies does not contribute to the understanding of overall performance of the industry as a whole.
• Releasing this information would be likely to provide competitors with a commercial advantage as they would be able to see the position of competing operators.
• We consider that disclosing the information could discourage licensees from freely providing information to the Commission in future, which would likely prejudice the Commission’s ability to monitor and regulate its licensees.
• Providing operator specific information regarding the information requested could lead to comparisons being made between operators, leading to unjustified inferences being made without the full context.

Weighing the balance

Whilst the Commission aims to be open and transparent, there is a need to preserve the confidentiality of information relating to licensed operators and to be mindful of the commercial sensitivities of information that is held. In our view there is more than a 50% chance that prejudice to the Commercial Interests of licensees would be caused by disclosure and the Commission’s view is that the public interest is best served through maintaining this exemption.

Review of the decision

If you are unhappy with the service you have received in relation to your Freedom of Information request you are entitled to an internal review of our decision. You should write to FOI Team, Gambling Commission, 4th floor, Victoria Square House, Victoria Square, Birmingham, B2 4BP or by reply to this email.

Please note, internal review requests should be made within 40 working days of the initial response. Requests made outside this timeframe will not be processed.

If you are not content with the outcome of our review, you may then apply directly to the Information Commissioner (ICO) for a decision. Generally, the ICO cannot make a decision unless you have already exhausted the review procedure provided by the Gambling Commission.

The ICO can be contacted at: The Information Commissioner’s Office (opens in a new tab), Wycliffe House, Water Lane, Wilmslow, Cheshire SK9 5AF.

Information Management Team
Gambling Commission
Victoria Square House
Victoria Square
Birmingham B2 4BP