Among other policy areas, the Department for Communities (DfC) has strategic responsibility for the development of policy and legislation on gambling in Northern Ireland. Gambling in Northern Ireland is currently regulated by the Betting, Gaming, Lotteries and Amusements (Northern Ireland) Order 1985. This is the first compendium of statistics containing information on a range of areas relating to gambling in Northern Ireland published by the Department for Communities (DfC). It is expected that this compendium will be updated annually. Data tables are available in Excel and ODS format.

Key points: 

• In 2022, there were 119 amusement permits covering 5,901 gaming machines with a maximum £25 payout and 18 amusement permits covering 377 gaming machines with a maximum £8 payout.
• There were 36 bingo club licences operational in 2022.
• In 2022, the number of bookmaking office licences that were operational was 279 and the number of bookmakers’ licences that were operational was 103.
• There were 2,185 employees in the gambling sector in 2021.
• The revenue from betting and gaming duty was £67 million in 2020-21, while gambling turnover in 2021 was £339.2 million.