Growth and Trends in Great Britain’s Gambling Industry
The Gambling Commission has recently published comprehensive data on the gambling industry in Great Britain, covering the period from March 2020 to June 2024. This report encompasses both online and in-person gambling activities, including those from Licensed Betting Operators (LBOs) located on Britain’s high streets.
Growth in Online Gambling
The online gambling sector has shown notable growth. In the first quarter (Q1) of the financial year 2024-2025, the total Gross Gambling Yield (GGY) was recorded at £1.46 billion ($1.87 billion), a 12 percent increase from the same period in 2023-2024.
The total number of bets and spins also rose by 11 percent year-on-year (YoY), hitting a new peak of 24.5 billion for the second consecutive quarter. Additionally, the average number of monthly active accounts saw a 9 percent rise.
Real Event Betting Trends
Real event betting demonstrated significant growth, with GGY increasing by 16 percent YoY to £625 million. Interestingly, this growth occurred despite a 7 percent decline in the number of bets.
The average number of monthly active accounts for Q1 increased by 11 percent, driven in part by major sporting events such as the UEFA Euro 2024.
Slots Performance
The slots vertical also experienced substantial growth. The GGY for slots rose by 10 percent YoY to £642 million ($802.24 million).
The number of spins increased by 12 percent to 22.4 billion, and the average monthly active accounts in Q1 went up by 11 percent to 4.4 million.
This quarter marked a peak in GGY, spins, and average monthly active accounts for online slots within the dataset.
Session Length and Engagement
The number of online slots sessions lasting longer than an hour rose by 8 percent YoY to 9.6 million.
The average session length remained steady at 17 minutes, with about 6 percent of all sessions extending beyond one hour, the lowest percentage recorded in the dataset.
Decline in LBOs
Contrasting with the growth in online gambling, the GGY for LBOs experienced a slight decline of 1 percent, amounting to £582 million ($747 million) in Q1 2024-2025 compared to the same quarter the previous year.
The total number of bets and spins also decreased by 1 percent, totaling 3.2 billion.
