It has been 18 years since the country’s gambling laws were properly updated but the industry has transformed in that time.

The Gambling Act 2005, which was introduced before the advent of the iPhone, liberalised gambling laws, unleashing television advertising and making Britain the first country to permit online gambling.

Since then, the gambling industry’s revenues have soared. William Hill – fined a record sum by the Gambling Commission on Tuesday for failing in its duties towards customers – is no exception.

The gross gambling yield – the amount gambling firms win from customers – jumped from £8.36bn in 2008 to more than £14bn last year. Much of this growth was driven by online gambling, which overtook bingo operators, betting shops, casinos and other “land-based” operators for the first time in 2019.