Accredited official statistics

DCMS sectors economic estimates: Business demographics, 2024 - technical and quality assurance report

Published 5 December 2024

This document covers the following topics:

1. an overview of the content covered in the statistical release ‘DCMS sectors Economic Estimates: Business Demographics 2024’
2. an overview of DCMS sectors, how they are defined, and limitations of these definitions
3. the methodology underlying the statistical release, including data sources
4. the processes used to check that the estimates have been produced correctly
5. other sources of information for the DCMS sectors
6. further information, including contact details for DCMS statisticians.

1. Overview of release

The statistics release ‘DCMS sectors Economic Estimates: Business Demographics 2024’ provides an estimate of the number and size of businesses within DCMS sectors. These numbers are broken down by:

• the employment size band
• the turnover generated
• UK region and devolved administration

We use the Inter-Departmental Business Register (IDBR) to generate estimates of DCMS sector business demographics. Before 2022, we used the Annual Business Survey (ABS) as the data source. Due to this change:

• estimates in this release are not directly comparable to DCMS sectors business demographics estimates published by DCMS in 2021 and previous years
• estimates of the number of enterprises in each DCMS sector by ownership status (i.e. UK vs foreign-owned), estimates of exporter/importer businesses, and estimates of the turnover produced by businesses in each employment band are not included in this release as these breakdowns were not possible to calculate.

Additional information about this change can be found in the source data change summary note. 

The Office for National Statistics (ONS) is the provider of the underlying data used for the analysis presented within this release. As such, the same data sources are used for DCMS estimates as for national estimates, enabling comparisons to be made on a consistent basis.

1.1 Official Statistics Accreditation

In June 2019, a suite of DCMS Sector Economic Estimates, including business demographics estimates, were independently reviewed by the Office for Statistics Regulation (OSR). They comply with the standards of trustworthiness, quality and value in the Code of Practice for Statistics and should be labelled accredited official statistics. Accredited official statistics are called National Statistics in the Statistics and Regulation Service Act 2007.

This followed a report by the Office for Statistics Regulation in December 2018, which stated that the series could be designated as National Statistics subject to meeting certain requirements. Since the report, we have striven to improve our publications by providing summaries of other notable sources of data, more detail on the nature and extent of the overlap between the sectors, and further information on the quality and limitations of the data. We will continue to improve the series in the future, in line with the recommendations of the report. We encourage our users to engage with us so that we can improve our statistics and identify gaps in the statistics that we produce.

Our statistical practice is regulated by the OSR. OSR sets the standards of trustworthiness, quality and value in the Code of Practice for Statistics that all producers of official statistics should adhere to.

You are welcome to contact us directly with any comments about how we meet these standards by emailing [email protected]. 

Alternatively, you can contact OSR by emailing [email protected] or via the OSR website. 

1.2 Users

The users of these statistics fall into five broad categories:

• ministers and other political figures
• policy and other professionals in DCMS and other government departments
• industries and their representative bodies
• charitable organisations
• academics

The primary use of these statistics is to monitor the performance of the industries in the DCMS sectors, helping to understand how current and future policy interventions can be most effective.

2. Sector definitions

In February 2023, Machinery of Government changes meant that responsibility for the digital and telecoms sectors moved from DCMS to the newly created Department for Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT). Since April 2024, Economic Estimates for the digital sector have been published by DSIT, which can be found here.

2.1 Overview of DCMS Sectors

Main sector definitions

The sectors for which DCMS has responsibility are:

• civil society
• creative industries
• cultural sector
• gambling
• sport
• tourism

However, DCMS sectors business demographics estimates do not include civil society as the sector cannot be uniquely identified in the Inter-Departmental Business Register. Further, the definition for tourism in this publication is not the same as that used in other economic estimates, and the results should not be compared across different economic estimates publications. More details are available in section 2.3.

In order to measure the size of the economy it is important to be able to define it. DCMS uses a range of definitions based on internal or UK agreed definitions. All definitions are based on the Standard Industrial Classification 2007 (SIC) codes. This means nationally consistent sources of data can be used and enables international comparisons. Details of the UK SIC 2007 are available on the Standard Industrial Classification website.

The development of individual sector definitions in isolation as new sectors have been added to the department’s remit has meant that each sector definition has been designed to be the best possible measure of that sector, rather than being considered as part of a greater whole. This approach has led to overlap between DCMS sectors. For example, the cultural sector is defined using SIC codes that are nearly all within the Creative Industries. Due to the overlaps, summing over the number of businesses in individual sectors would give a total greater than the actual value. When calculating the DCMS sector total, these overlaps are accounted for and businesses are only counted once rather than multiple times.

Figure 1 below visually shows the overlap between DCMS Sectors in terms of industries. Users should note that this does not give an indication of the magnitude of the value of overlap.

A list of SIC codes appearing in each sector and subsector can be found in the tables accompanying the release.

Figure 1: Commonality of industries across the DCMS Sectors by overlap in SIC codes

The exact size of the overlap between sectors varies by measure. For the “number of businesses” figure in this release, the overlap between the sectors is as illustrated in Figure 2, below. Here the amount of one bar that is vertically above another bar indicates the size of the overlap, for example, most of the cultural sector overlaps with the creative industries and only a small proportion of cultural sector businesses lie outside the creative industries.

Figure 2. Percentage breakdown of overlaps in the included DCMS sectors for the estimated total number of businesses, March 2024

Other sector definitions

Additional analysis is presented in the business demographics release for the audio visual sector. The definition of the audio visual sector (see below) is intended to reflect the sectors covered by the EU Audio Visual Media Services Directive:

• 59.11 - motion picture, video and television programme production activities
• 59.12 - motion picture, video and television programme post-production activities
• 59.13 - motion picture, video and television programme distribution activities
• 59.2 - sound recording and music publishing activities
• 60.1 - radio broadcasting
• 60.2 - television programming and broadcasting activities
• 63.91 - news agency activities
• 63.99 - other information service activities n.e.c.
• 77.22 - renting of video tapes and disks
• 77.4 - leasing of intellectual property and similar products, except copyrighted works

Estimates for the computer games sector, which like the audio visual sector is “adjacent” to DCMS sectors, are not available in this release. The computer games sector combines the 4-digit SIC code 58.21 (publishing of computer games) and the 5-digit SIC code 62.01/1 (ready-made interactive leisure and entertainment software development), which the data is not granular enough to calculate estimates for.

2.2 Details and limitations of sector definitions

This section looks at sector definitions used in this release in more detail, and provides an overview of limitations.

There are limitations to the underlying classifications. As the balance and make-up of the economy changes, the SIC codes, most recently finalised in 2007, become less able to provide the detail for important elements of the UK economy related to DCMS sectors. The SIC codes used to produce these estimates are a ‘best fit’, subject to the limitations described in the following section.

Civil society

Estimates of the number of businesses in the civil society sector are not available in this release. This is because civil society organisations are not identifiable in the relevant ONS datasets and therefore business demographic estimates cannot be produced on the same basis.

A list of alternative, approximate data sources for the sector can be found in Section 5.

Creative industries

The creative industries were defined in the government’s 2001 Creative Industries Mapping Document as “those industries which have their origin in individual creativity, skill and talent and which have a potential for wealth and job creation through the generation and exploitation of intellectual property”.

To allow the creative industries to be measured, DCMS worked with others to develop a statistical definition of the creative industries which reflects this definition. DCMS uses a “creative intensity” metric to determine which industries (at 4 digit SIC) are creative. The creative intensity is the proportion of occupations in an industry that are creative and, if the intensity is above a set threshold, that industry is typically defined as creative. More information can be found in the 2016 methodology document.

Cultural sector

There are significant limitations to the DCMS measurement of the cultural sector arising from the lack of detailed disaggregation possible using the standard industrial classifications. There are many cases where culture forms a small part of an industry classification and therefore cannot be separately identified and assigned as culture using standard data sources. DCMS consulted on the definition of Culture and published a response in April 2017.

It is recognised that, due to the limitations associated with SIC codes, the SIC code used in past publications as a proxy for the heritage sector (91.03 - operation of historical sites and building and similar visitor attractions) is likely to be an underestimate of this sector’s value. We have changed the name of the heritage sector to ‘operation for historical sites and similar visitor attractions’ to reflect this.

Sport

For the purpose of this publication the statistical definition of sport has been used. This incorporates only those 4-digit Standard Industrial Classification (SIC) codes which are predominantly sport (see the definitions table published alongside the methodology note).

DCMS has also published estimates of sport based on the EU agreed Vilnius definition. The Vilnius definition is a more comprehensive measure of sport which considers the contribution of sport across a range of industries, for example sport advertising, and sport related construction. 

Tourism

The definition of tourism in this release differs to that used in other DCMS sector economic estimates releases, and results should not be directly compared. In this release we therefore refer to the tourism industries rather than the tourism sector.

In the majority of the DCMS economic estimates publications the estimates of tourism are based on results from the tourism satellite account, which estimates the direct economic impact of tourism (or tourists) on the economy as a proportion of each standard industrial class. The tourism satellite account produces estimates of the number of enterprises in the tourism sector, however these estimates do not provide any further business demography information for use in this release. The figures in this release are therefore based on a “tourism industries” approach, which counts any establishment in an industry (SIC code) for which the principal activity is a tourism characteristic activity, i.e. it includes 100% of the businesses in a subset of the standard industrial classes.

As such, the estimates for the tourism industries in this release are larger than they might otherwise have been under a satellite account approach and therefore account for a greater proportion of the DCMS Sector total than in other economic estimates publications.

3. Methodology

This chapter summarises the methodology used to produce Business Demographics estimates.

3.1 Inter-Departmental Business Register (IDBR)

The Inter-Departmental Business Register (IDBR) is a comprehensive list of businesses registered for Value Added Tax (VAT) and/or Pay As You Earn (PAYE). It combines VAT trader and PAYE employer information provided by HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) with details of incorporated businesses provided by Companies House to produce a statistical register comprising around 2.7 million enterprises.It is currently estimated that there are 2.9 million unregistered businesses in the UK. The unregistered businesses are very small in terms of turnover and the vast majority of UK economic activity is captured through the 2.7 million registered businesses that are on the IDBR. 

The business population estimates publication from the Department for Business and Trade (DBT) provides an estimate of the total UK business population, including an estimate of the “unregistered” population. There also exists a number of low turnover non-employing businesses that are not included in the IDBR and therefore cannot be included in this publication.

The IDBR is supplemented by information from ONS survey data, such as the Business Register and Employment Survey (BRES), and survey information provided by the Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency (NISRA) and the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) farms register.

Instead of raw data from the IDBR, we have used snapshots taken in March each year from 2019 to 2024 as per the ONS UK business: activity, size and location release to produce these estimates.

3.2 Definition of a business

The ONS UK business: activity, size and location publication presents counts of enterprises and local units. These are described below along with how they are referred to within DCMS business demographics releases.

Businesses are defined as any enterprise held on the IDBR. Meanwhile, business sites (also referred to within DCMS business demographics releases, in particular for breakdowns by region) are defined as any local units held on the IDBR.

3.3 Number of businesses

The IDBR snapshots give us the number of businesses (enterprises) at the 4-digit SIC level. The relevant SICs are then aggregated to produce estimates for each DCMS sector.

3.4 Size of businesses

Business size can be measured either as the number of employees, or turnover generated. For ease of analysis, the number of employees and turnover generated are grouped into bands.

Number of employees (employment band)

The standard definition of a small and medium sized enterprise (SMEs) is any business with fewer than 250 employees. Additionally, breakdowns of micro, small and medium businesses are as follows:

• 0-9 employees (representing micro businesses)
• 10-49 employees (representing small businesses)
• 50-249 employees (representing medium businesses)
• 250+ employees (representing large businesses)

Information on the number of employees is included in the IDBR snapshots, with data on the number of businesses (enterprises) within each of the employment size bands listed above. The employment information on the IDBR is drawn mainly from the Business Register Employment Survey (BRES).

Turnover

Turnover (also known as revenue) refers to the value of sales, work done and services rendered by businesses, excluding VAT. This is different to profit or value added and does not take into account business costs. Businesses that generate a lower turnover can be more profitable/productive than businesses with higher turnover.

Information on turnover is included in the IDBR, based on VAT returns for a 12-month period. For instance, for the March 2024 IDBR snapshot these relate to a 12-month period covering the financial year 2022 to 2023. The turnover figures on the register generally exclude VAT but include other taxes, such as the revenue duties on alcoholic drinks and tobacco. They represent total UK turnover, including exempt and zero-rated supplies.

ONS also provides data on the number of businesses (enterprises) within specified turnover bands. The turnover bands (measured in £000’s) used in this analysis are listed below:

• £0 to £50
• £50 to £100
• £100 to £250
• £250 to £500
• £500 to £1,000
• £1,000+

3.5 Region

The regional distribution of DCMS businesses is based on the number of business sites (local units). A local unit represents an individual site (for example a factory or shop) in a business (enterprise). One business may have many sites, and, where this is true, the location of the business is generally the main operating site or the head office. For various reasons it is possible to get multiple business registrations at a single address and this can distort data for smaller geographical areas.

Regional data are apportioned based on local unit industry classification, employment size and regional location. The data from ONS on the number of business sites (local units) within each region (or devolved administration) is at the 4-digit SIC level. This information is then aggregated up to produce estimates for DCMS sectors.

Regions are based on International Territorial Level 1, or ITL1, definitions. ITL1 is a geographical classification standard that is defined as the regions of the UK; that is to say, the regions of England and the countries of Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. This is currently equivalent to the NUTS 1 standard of classification used by the UK between 2003 and 2021, with the “UK” code reference being replaced by “TL” in the tables accordingly.

3.6 Summary of data sources

In summary, the data presented in this report on business demographics

• are based on official statistics data sources
• are based on internationally-harmonised codes
• are based on administrative data (Inter-Departmental Business Register)

This means the estimates are:

• comparable at both a national and international level.
• comparable over time, allowing trends to be measured and monitored

However, this also means the estimates are subject to limitations of the underlying classifications of the make-up of the UK economy. For example, the standard industrial classification (SIC) codes were developed in 2007 and have not been revised since. Emerging sectors, such as Artificial Intelligence, are therefore hard to capture and may be excluded or mis-coded.

There can also be limitations in the nature of administrative or operational systems that can affect the statistics derived from the underlying data. Such problems may arise from the nature of the administrative data, variability in data suppliers’ procedures, a lack of standardised application of data collection, the complexity and suitability of administrative systems, or public perceptions regarding the use of personal data. The Office for Statistics Regulation (OSR) provides an exploration of coverage and content issues with administrative data, in addition to broader information on the nature and challenges of administrative data.

4. Validation, accuracy and quality assurance processes

This chapter summarises the validation, accuracy and quality assurance processes applied during the production of the DCMS sectors Economic Estimates: Business Demographics 2024 statistics. This includes a detailed account of the quality assurance processes and the data checks carried out by our data providers (Office for National Statistics, ONS) as well as by DCMS.

4.1 Validation, accuracy and quality assurance processes at ONS

Quality assurance at ONS takes place at a number of stages. The validation and accuracy of the source data, as well as the various processes in place to ensure quality for the data sources used in the business demographics publication, are outlined in the relevant links below.

We have used snapshots of the IDBR from the ONS UK business: activity, size and location publication. For more information on quality assurance processes used during the production and analysis of this release, as well as validation and accuracy of the estimates, see the UK business; activity, size and location QMI.

4.2 Quality Assurance processes at DCMS

The majority of quality assurance of the data underpinning this release takes place at ONS, through the processes described above. However, further quality assurance checks are then carried out within DCMS. Production of the analysis and report is typically carried out by one member of staff, whilst quality assurance is completed by at least one other, to ensure an independent evaluation of the work.

Data analysis quality assurance checks

At the analysis stage, data are aggregated to produce information about DCMS sectors and sub-sectors. The business demographics statistics lead checks, for example, whether:

• the correct data have been used for the analysis e.g. has the 2019 data been used to derive the 2019 figures for DCMS sectors, or has the 2018 data been used by mistake?
• the correct SIC codes have been aggregated together to form DCMS sector and sub-sector estimates. Are all SIC codes we require included? Are there any non-DCMS SIC codes that have been included by accident?
• the number of businesses in DCMS sectors looks similar to other years’ data. If not, why is this? Could this be because of changes to the number of businesses in the UK as a whole (like rapid growth/decline)? Or has there been a miscalculation somewhere?

Publication quality assurance checks

Finalised figures are disseminated within OpenDocument Format tables and a written headline report, published on GOV.UK. These are produced by the business demographics statistics lead. Before publishing, a quality assurer checks the data tables as well as the report to ensure minimal errors. This is checked against a QA log where comments can be fed back and actioned accordingly. The quality assurer also makes sure any statements made about the figures (e.g. regarding trends) are correct according to the analysis and checks for spelling or grammatical errors.

Proofreading and publication checks are done at the final stage, including:

• checking the figures in the publication match the published tables
• checking the footnote numbering is correct
• making sure hyperlinks work
• checking chart/table numbers are in the correct order
• ensuring the publication is signed off by DCMS Head of Profession for Statistics 
• contacting press office to ensure they are aware of the release date
• checking the published GOV.UK page again after publishing

Post publication

Once the publication is released, DCMS reviews the processes and procedures followed via a wash up meeting. This occurs usually a week after the publication release date and discusses:

• what went well and what issues were encountered
• what improvements can be made for next time
• what feedback have we received from engaging with users

5. Glossary

5.1 Turnover

Turnover refers to the value of sales, work done and services rendered by businesses, excluding VAT. This is different to profit or value added and does not take into account business costs. Businesses that generate a lower turnover can be more profitable/productive than businesses with higher turnover.

5.2 Businesses

A business is defined as any enterprise held on the Inter-Departmental Business Register (IDBR). A business is held on the IDBR if it is registered for Value Added Tax (VAT) with HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC), registered for a Pay As You Earn (PAYE) scheme with HMRC, or an incorporated business registered at Companies House.

Estimates for the number of business sites, broken down by region, are based on all the local units an enterprise has. Hence, the totals shown for that section will be higher than for the number of businesses shown in other tables.

5.3 Region

In this release a region refers to an administrative area of England or the devolved administrative area of Scotland, Wales or Northern Ireland. This uses the internationally comparable geography of ITLs (International Territorial Levels) at ITL1 regional level.

6. External data sources

This section sets out alternative data sources for business demographics estimates for the DCMS sectors.

6.1 Annual Business Survey (ABS)

This release uses ONS data based directly on the Inter-Departmental Business Register (IDBR). Consequently, it should not be directly compared to DCMS sectors business demographics estimates published before 2022. 

Previous DCMS Sectors Economic Estimates releases used the Annual Business Survey (ABS) as a data source to estimate business demographics statistics. The ABS uses the IDBR as a sample frame and sends questionnaires to 60,000 registered UK Non-Financial Business Economy (UKNFBE) businesses, so omits a minority of sectors such as the financial services sectors. The ABS does record higher numbers of businesses in lower turnover bands than the IDBR, likely due to the self-reported data by survey respondents. The questionnaires ask about the entire year rather than being a snapshot so can also answer additional questions to provide data not included in the IDBR.

We now use IDBR as a data source in this release as it is a comprehensive list of registered UK businesses (rather than a sample), is more timely, and is more accurate - particularly with regard to turnover data taken directly from HMRC VAT data rather than self-reporting. More information can be found in the source data change summary note.

6.2 Other business publications

A summary of business population statistical publications can be found in Section 4 of the ONS UK business; activity, size and location QMI.

This includes the ONS UK business: activity, size and location publication itself. It also includes the ONS business demography statistics, which were used as a basis for a one-off business births and deaths release published by DCMS in 2020.

6.3 Other estimates of DCMS Sectors

It is recognised that there were always different ways to define sectors, but their relevance depends on what they are needed for. Government generally favours classification systems which are:

• rigorously measured,
• internationally comparable,
• nationally consistent, and
• ideally applicable to specific policy interventions.

These are the main reasons for DCMS using SIC code based definitions for its sectors. However DCMS accept that there are limitations with this approach (see section 2.3), and alternative definitions can be useful where a policy-relevant grouping of businesses crosses existing Standard Industrial Classification (SIC) codes.

DCMS are aware of other estimates of DCMS sectors. These estimates use varying methodologies and can be useful for serving several purposes, e.g. monitoring progress under specific policy themes such as community health or the environment, or measuring activities subsumed across a range of SICs. While potentially useful, the quality of the data depends on that of the evidence used to estimate the appropriate share of existing SICs.

The table below shows different sources of analysis measuring the economic contribution of different DCMS policy areas from other organisations. It is recognised that there will be many other sources of evidence from industry bodies, for example, which have not been included in this table. This will be developed over time to capture a wider spectrum of stakeholder’s releases.

Table 1: Alternative data sources measuring economic contribution of DCMS sectors

Sector	Sub-sector	Organisation		Publication Summary
Civil Society	Charities	Charity Commission for England and Wales		Charity Commission annual report and accounts 2023 to 2024. The Charity Commission is the registrar and regulator of charities in England and Wales. The registrar is responsible for maintaining an accurate and up-to-date register of charities. This includes determining whether organisations are charitable and therefore should be registered as well as removing those that are no longer considered to be charities, have ceased to exist or do not operate. The commission regulates both registered charities and charities that are not required to be registered.
Civil Society	Community Interest Companies	The Office of the Regulator of Community Interest Companies		CIC Regulator: Annual Report 2022 to 2023. This report outlines the activities of the Office of the Regulator of Community Interest Companies (CIC Regulator) during the 2022 to 2023 financial year.
Creative Industries	Architecture	Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA)		The List 20. RIBA holds information about the number of chartered architectural practices in the UK. They publish full contact details of these practices to serve as a directory to help potential clients identify and choose an architect. The numbers differ from DCMS figures as businesses in the Architecture sub-sector may not necessarily be chartered practices.
Creative Industries; Cultural Sector	Crafts	Crafts Council		Measuring the Craft Economy. The Crafts Council produce three figures for Craft – one matches the DCMS definition exactly, another (called ‘DCMS+’) consists of some additional SICs identified by the Crafts Council as belonging to the Crafts sector, these are then summed together to produce a total for Craft. They use business counts from the Inter-departmental Business Register, together with data from Department for Business and Trade’s Business Population Estimates, which enables them to include businesses below the VAT/PAYE threshold. In the Crafts Council release, it is these businesses below the VAT/PAYE threshold that are referred to as micro businesses, rather than those with 0-9 employees.
Creative Industries; Cultural Sector	Arts	Arts Council England (ACE)		Contribution of the arts and culture industry to the UK economy. ACE details the number of enterprises broken down by employment size band in the broad industries from which the Arts and Culture Industry definition is drawn. They use similar SIC codes to DCMS’ Economic Estimates, but they use different employment bands, and draw the data from Department for Business and Trade’s Business Population Estimates rather than from the Annual Business Survey. The analysis uses data at the 2 digit SIC level, rather than the 4 digit level, hence reporting on the broad industries from which the Arts and Culture Industry definition is drawn, rather than the Arts and Culture Industry itself
Creative Industries; Cultural Sector;	Film, TV, video, radio and photography; IT, software and computer services	British Film Institute (BFI)		BFI Statistical Yearbook: The UK Film Economy. BFI provides an estimate of the number of companies in the Film Industry, including the size (by turnover) and regional distributions. They use similar SIC codes to DCMS’ Economic Estimates, and results from the Inter-Departmental Business Register (IDBR).
Creative Industries; Cultural Sector	Museums and Galleries and Libraries; Museums and Galleries	Arts Council England (ACE)		The economic impact of museums in England. ACE commissioned a report which looked at the economic impact of museums in England in 2013 and included details of the number of organisations, sites, and the average employment in each organisation. This methodology varies greatly to DCMS’ Economic Estimates. The definition of museums is much wider than is used in DCMS’ estimates, which is based on one SIC code. ACE have identified the limitations with using SIC codes for museums, namely that to be included in the official statistical surveys, the museum needs to be registered for PAYE or VAT, which means some of the small museums would not be included in these official sources. The same applies to local authority delivered museum services which would be coded under the Public Administration SIC code. As a result ACE have used a bottom-up approach of developing a database of museums in England then using various sources to identify the economic measures for each museum. This is for England and was produced in 2013.
Gambling	Gambling	Gambling Commission		Industry statistics. Gambling Commission produce industry statistics twice a year covering various economic impacts, including number of businesses (betting shops, bingo premises, casinos). They use a different method to DCMS’ Economic Estimates, reflecting differences in data sources available to the Gambling Commission and their policy needs. The Gambling Commission derive their estimates from returns from their operators - it is a licence requirement for operators to submit returns, so essentially the collection is a census. This has benefits over using survey data like DCMS use. In addition, the industry definition by Gambling Commission is wider. DCMS only use SIC 92 to define Gambling; however it is likely that there will be companies outside of SIC 92 included in the Gambling Commission statistics. For example, some working men’s clubs may hold a licence but would not be classified under SIC 92 by virtue of their other primary activities.