Offline Gaming is Enjoying a Renaissance in the UK, Says Belle Rock Entertainment

LONDON, August 9, 2012 /PRNewswire/ --

Thanks to online gaming, its offline counterpart is enjoying a resurgence in the UK

Due to strict gambling laws, badly located casinos and betting shops, contrasted with liberalised online play available to all adults anywhere, the last 10 years have not been easy for offline gaming. However, the future of offline gaming now looks more promising according to Belle Rock Entertainment. The UK gambling and gaming industry is enjoying a renaissance largely boosted, not hindered, by online gaming.

A new report in the US found online gambling actually complements offline gambling. Online poker for example generally fuels demand for offline poker games such as high-stakes games and long-play tournaments.

In the UK, The Economist points out gross gambling yields at high-street betting shops increased by 5% in 2011 as the number of shops increased slightly from 8,862 to 9,067. This is in spite of the UK's recession.

This growth is not from horse or dog betting, the forms of gambling traditionally enjoyed in betting shops. Rather gamblers are betting on touch-screen fixed-odds casino machines similar in game play to online casino games. The number of machines offering this form of gaming doubled between 2006 and 2010 from 16,000 to 32,000, with yield increasing by £1.3 billion in 2011 alone.

Because these games are very similar to those played online, Belle Rock Entertainment says  it's not worried about losing business to offline gaming outlets. The company believes it can actually benefit from the complementary nature of the two industries.

A further boost came to the offline gambling and betting industry recently as the latest report on gambling from the Commons Culture, Media and Sport Select Committee found liberalising high-street gambling in the UK should be seriously considered. It outlined the benefits of decentralising control of betting shops to local authorities whilst allowing more than four high-stake gambling machines in each shop - each machine accepts stakes of between £100 and £500.

Online gambling providers should also get a boost from the research, which recommends taxes on online gambling be reduced and laws updated to deal with the modern ways in which people like to gamble - both on- and offline. 

About Belle Rock Entertainment

Belle Rock Entertainment is well-established UK casino review site, providing in depth online casino reviews about aspects such as casino bonuses and games available at each casino.