UKGC Statistics Report Showed 8.1% Rise in Online Gambling

The UK Gambling Commission (GC) published its bi-annual gambling industry statistics report showing growth in online gambling. The remote sector with its £5.7 billion in gross gaming yield (GGY) represented 39.9% of the total £14.2 billion generated by the industry during the reported period of April 2019 to March 2020.

The overview report in terms of GGY by sector is based on data reported to the GC by all licensed operators and defines the size and shape of the gambling industry in Great Britain. It takes into account that the last 11 days of the reported period affected land-based gaming facilities, as well as sports betting due to casino closures and suspension of sporting events, with the latter bearing a potential to have affected remote gambling operations too.

Total GGY Marginally Down

The reported 12-month GGY total for the period posted a marginal decrease of 0.6%, £84.1 million, compared to the previous period. The largest combined sector by GGY, remote gambling, increased by 8.1% to £426.3 million year-on-year, dominated by online casino games. It generated £3.2 billion in GGY mostly from slot games, while remote sports betting, spearheaded by football and horse racing, totalled £2.3 billion. Remote bingo was the third vertical within remote gambling, generating £176.8 million.

The second sector in terms of GGY was National Lottery ticket sales which generated £3.4 billion, posting an increase from the previous period of £319.9 million. The increase in the sector reflected into an increase for the primary contribution to good causes by 11.6% or £172.3 million, to £1.7 billion.

The third largest sector, non-remote betting, registered a decrease in GGY of 26.4%, generating £2.4 billion for the period. All off-course, on-course and pool betting decreased, and the total number of betting premises continued to decline.

Non-Remote Gambling Down

A relatively small decrease in GGY posted non-remote casino, down 4% to £1 billion, led by a 4.6% drop in casino games, while casino-based machines registered 1.8% less than the previous reporting period. Non-remote bingo confirmed its downward trend decreasing by 5.7% to £636.0 million.

Excluding GGY from the National Lottery and other small society lotteries, the lottery vertical saw an increase of 13.3%, to £611.6 million, pushing up by £35.6 million or 10.7%, to £366.8 million the balance to good causes, which registered a record.

GGY from adult gaming centers in the arcade sector went up 9.3% to £424.8 million, while licensed family entertainment centers excluding the ones operating via a permit from a local authority, reported £52.4 million, up 5.3%.

The biggest drop in GGY posted machines across all sectors which decreased by £719.1 million or 25.6%, mainly due to the 99% drop in GGY from Category B2 machines which plummeted during its first year of operation since the introduction of limit on fixed odds betting terminals (FOBTs) to £12.1 million from £1.2 billion reported previously. Considering the impact from the FOBT limit, the recently proposed by the Commission £100 loss limit would further affect operators industry-wide.

Category B3 machines became the highest machine category generating £1.5 billion, an increase of £434.7 million or 39.5%.