Significant Shift Towards Online Betting in the UK Gambling Market
The UK gambling market has experienced a dramatic shift towards online betting in 2024, with record-breaking growth and increased engagement, according to the latest data from the Gambling Commission. As the online sector thrives, driven by major events like UEFA Euro 2024, the offline betting market faces notable declines.
Record-Breaking Growth in Online Gambling
The UK gambling market has seen a substantial increase in online betting in 2024, as per the latest data from the Gambling Commission.
This period, covering April to June, showcased a record-breaking quarter for online gambling, with a total of over 24.5 billion bets and spins—the highest ever recorded.
This marks a significant rise from the previous quarter’s record, underscoring the robust growth of the online sector.
The gross gambling yield (GGY) for online gambling during this period rose by 12% year-on-year, reaching £1.46 billion.
The total number of bets and spins increased by 11%, while the average number of monthly active accounts saw a 9% rise compared to the same period in 2023.
Impact of Real Event Betting
Real event betting played a pivotal role in driving this growth, with a 16% increase contributing £625 million to the total GGY.
Events like UEFA Euro 2024 significantly boosted this segment. Despite a 7% decrease in the number of bets, the average monthly active accounts for real event betting grew by 11%, indicating a higher engagement rate per user.
Online Slots Performance
Online slots also showed impressive performance, with GGY increasing by 10% to £642 million. The number of spins reached a record 22.4 billion, a 12% rise from the previous year.
Additionally, the number of sessions lasting longer than an hour increased by 8% to 9.7 million, while the total number of sessions rose by 16%.
The average session length remained steady at 17 minutes, and customer interactions saw a slight increase of 0.4% to 2.9 million, although direct operator interactions fell by 13%.
Challenges for Offline Betting
In contrast to the booming online sector, offline betting faced challenges. The GGY for the first quarter of 2024 dropped by 1% compared to the same period last year, totaling £582 million.
The total number of bets and spins decreased by 1% to 3.2 billion. Over-the-counter (OTC) bets fell by 4% to 144 million, with GGY for OTC betting dropping by 7% to £168 million.
However, self-service betting terminals showed resilience, with bets placed increasing by 5% year-on-year to 37 million, and GGY rising by 7% to £124 million.
Insights from the Gambling Survey for Great Britain
The Gambling Commission’s recent survey, published on 25 July, aims to provide comprehensive insights into gambling behavior in Great Britain.
According to the survey, 48% of participants aged 18 and over had engaged in some form of gambling in the past four weeks.
Online gambling was more prevalent, with 37% of participants gambling online compared to 29% who gambled in person.
However, a significant portion of online activity was related to purchasing lottery tickets.
The survey’s methodology faced criticism from various industry stakeholders, including the Betting and Gaming Council (BGC) and Regulus Partners, highlighting the ongoing debate about the accuracy and impact of such data collection practices.
