Key points:
- Online gambling saw significant growth with an 11% year-on-year increase in GGY
- Slots activity showed particularly strong growth, with GGY increasing 16% to £680m
- In-person betting at high-street LBOs experienced a slight 1% decrease in GGY compared to Q2 of the previous year
The UK Gambling Commission has released new data covering gambling activity in Great Britain for both online and in-person settings. The data, sourced from licensed operators, spans from March 2020 through September 2024, providing insights into the behaviour of Licensed Betting Operators (LBOs) on British high streets and online platforms.
In the financial year’s second quarter (Q2), spanning July to September 2024, the online gambling gross gambling yield (GGY) reached £1.32bn ($1.71bn) – a notable increase of 11% from the previous year.
The online sector saw a record number of total bets and spins, up by 12% year-on-year, totalling 25.2 billion.
Concurrently, active accounts per month rose by 8%, marking the third consecutive quarter of growth.
For real event betting, GGY saw a 6% year-on-year rise to £453m, despite a 10% decline in the number of bets placed.
Slots activity showed particularly strong growth, with GGY increasing 16% year-on-year to £680m.
Active accounts grew by 16%, reaching a new high of 4.4 million monthly, though reclassification of certain products may have contributed to this uptick.
Longer online slots sessions also increased by 9% year-on-year, totalling 10 million sessions exceeding one hour, though the average session length remained at 17 minutes. Meanwhile, GGY per session fell slightly, from £4.20 to £4.13.
In contrast, LBOs reported a minor decline, with GGY down 1% to £533m, while the number of total bets and spins was stable at 3.1 billion.
The Gambling Commission emphasises caution when interpreting these statistics, highlighting potential product reclassifications and the complexity of measuring active accounts across multiple gambling verticals.
