The data reflects the period between March and December 2020, and shows there was a 6% month-on-month increase in active accounts, and a 12% increase in bets. The number of bets rose to almost six billion, with the number of active accounts increasing to almost three million, both of which are the highest from within the pandemic period.

Gross gambling yield (GGY) meanwhile rose 30% due to strong margins for operators in real event betting, and GGY growth and player number growth in slots. Slots GGY saw an increase of 13% to almost £200m ($283.5m).

From November to December, the number of online slots sessions lasting longer than one hour increased by 11% to 2.5 million, while the average session length decreased to 21.5 minutes, with 8% of all sessions lasting in excess of one hour.

The Commission has called for extra operator vigilance throughout the lockdown, stating that “most people will be spending more time at home and online and many people are likely to be feeling more isolated and vulnerable as a result of the length of the pandemic period, the new restrictions and further uncertainty about their personal or financial circumstances.”