Online Gambling GGY in UK Rises in Latest Quarter but Retail Slows

The gambling regulator in the UK, the Gambling Commission, published its most recent data, uncovering insights regarding the number of bets, revenue and performance of the market for quarter 4 of the financial year 2023 to 2024, or the period between January and March. The latest data was compared year-over-year to quarter 4 of 2022 to 2023, highlighting an increase in the online gross gambling yield (GGY), together with an uptick in the total bets.

Between January and March this year, total online GGY hit £1.4 billion ($1.75 billion), a result that marked a 5% increase year-over-year. One of the primary growth drivers of the GGY was slots, which saw a significant increase of more than 10% when compared to the prior year period.

Complementing the strong online GGY reported for this year’s quarter 4, there was a notable increase in the total bets which jumped by 10%. As a result, during the latest trading period, the total number of bets surpassed 24 billion, setting a new record for bets and/or spins for the quarter since the Commission started to collect such data. The number of average monthly active accounts between January and March 2024 posted a year-over-year increase of 2%.

GGY for Online Slots, Self-Betting Service Terminals Increases

A breakdown released by the Commission disclosed details regarding the revenue and number of bets placed via retail outlets and the online sector. It’s no surprise that iGaming activities posted strong growth for the latest period, pushed primarily by online slots.

Per the Commission’s data, online slots GGY hit £614 million ($769.1 million) for the latest reporting period. This result represented an increase of 11% year-over-year. Besides GGY growth, the number of bets also increased by 12%, hitting a new record of 22 billion. At the same time, the average monthly active accounts increased by 7% to 4.2 million, while GGY per active player increased by 3% year-over-year.

Focusing on offline betting, there was a notable increase in the number of bets placed by self-service betting terminals (SSBTs). Overall, the number of bets via SSBTs hit 40 million, marking a year-over-year increase of 8%. GGY for the latest trading period increased to £126 million ($157.8 million), marking a 1% growth. Still, this result represented the highest recorded quarterly data.

In contrast, the number of bets over the counter marked a decrease of 1% for the latest quarter period. There was a notable decrease in the GGY reported by this segment which dipped by 9% to £153 million ($191.6 million). “This represented the lowest recorded over-the-counter GGY for Licensed Betting Operators’ since they have been fully opened for an entire quarter,” explained the Commission.