The Gambling Commission has published data on the gambling industry, while Allwyn starts its first day as the National Lottery operator.
Gambling Commission operator report
The report includes data sourced from operators from March 2020 up until December 2023.
This includes operators that have both online and retail platforms, as well as Licensed Betting Operators (LBOs) found on Britain’s high streets.
At the end of last year, the Gambling Commission also led a discussion about how it would use operator data to tighten regulations going forward.
In Q3 2023, the online Gross Gambling Yield (GGY) increased by 4% when compared to the year previous, up to £1.3bn ($1.7bn).
The number of total bets and spins also increased by 9%, reaching 24 billion, while active monthly users increased by 2%.
Real event betting GGY increased 5% annually to £468m, while slots GGY increased 6% to £618m.
However, the total bets in real event betting decreased by 3% and the average session length decreased from 19 minutes in Q3 2022 down to 17 minutes in 2023.
Only 7% of all sessions lasted longer than one hour during this period.
Allwyn starts Fourth National Lottery Licence
As expected, the Fourth National Lottery Licence goes live today, with Allwyn as the first new operator other than Camelot since it was launched in 1994.
Last month, the operator announced that it would make several Board changes ahead of the National Lottery takeover, including Seb Coe and Keith Mills.
Andrew Rhodes, Gambling Commission CEO, said: “This is a historic moment, the first time the National Lottery has changed operator and the Commission is pleased to have reached this milestone.
“The Fourth Licence by design will mean more of every pound spent on the National Lottery will go to Good Causes whilst still making sure it is safe to play.
“The National Lottery celebrates its 30th birthday this year and in that time it’s made a huge impact on the UK.
Allwyn will lead the National Lottery for the next years, including its commitment to good causes.
The Fourth Licence includes an ‘Incentive Mechanism’ which means that Allwyn will only see profits rise if the Returns to Good Causes also increase.
Rhodes continues: “Everyone at the Commission is committed to moving forwards with Allwyn and Government to make the Fourth Licence a big success for players and for the Good Causes that rely upon it up and down the country.”
Since its first game draw, the National Lottery has raised more than £48bn ($60.8bn) for good causes across the UK, giving back to more than 685,000 organisations.
John Tanner, Gambling Commission Executive Director and Senior Responsible Owner for the Fourth National Lottery Licence competition, said: “The Commission is grateful to colleagues at both Allwyn as the new operator of the National Lottery and Camelot as the outgoing operator for their work to get us to this point successfully.
“Many people, especially at the Commission have already worked extremely hard to make sure that the next ten years of the National Lottery are even more successful and I would like to thank them for that.”
