Fire Ice

What is Fire Ice?

The land-based gambling sector, comprising adult gaming centres (AGCs), betting shops, bingo halls and casinos, produced £4.9 billion in GGY over the year, marking a 1.1% yearly increase.

However, the UK’s physical estate shrank, with overall licensed gambling premises falling by 2% to 8,081.

Betting shops declining for the twelfth consecutive period, standing at 5,617, a 3.6% decrease representing a loss of 208 shops year-on-year.

About Fire Ice

Various MPs voiced concerns about the risk of privacy violations in accessing this data, and the potential social stigma around the information being shared.

Christofidou also floated the idea of issuing GMI recipients with a special card for in-person verification at gambling venues, but several MPs warned this could stigmatise welfare recipients.

Current gambling legislation restricts participation for minors and those classified as “financially vulnerable”. However, GMI recipients are not yet formally classified as such for the purpose of these regulations.

What is Fire Ice?

A quarter of respondents said they use both prediction markets and sportsbooks depending on the event they’re considering wagering on. While the 35% reduced use figure may sound like a warning shot to gaming companies, a variety of other studies and surveys indicate that when bettors can choose between a sportsbook and an all-or-nothing exchange, they frequently opt for the former.

While sports event contracts are currently the tentpole category for the prediction market industry, data indicate bettors and traders are embracing other categories.

Fullstory points out that while 62% of consumers have dabbled in sports event contracts, 42% traded economic or financial derivatives on a prediction market while a comparable percentage transacted in an election or political event contract. More than a quarter traded at least one entertainment or pop culture derivative.