UKGC’s Q1 2024-25 Report Highlights Strong British Gaming

The United Kingdom’s Gambling Commission (UKGC) has published data about the British gambling industry’s performance in the first quarter of the fiscal year. The UKGC’s report compared the industry’s performance in Q1 FY 2024-25 to the results reported in the first quarter of the previous fiscal year.

Results Increased Across the Board

Q1, which covers the period from April to June, saw British operators record an online total gross gambling yield (GGY) of £1.46 billion ($1.87 billion). This figure outlines a year-on-year increase of 12%, the commission added.

The overall number of total bets and spins, the UKGC elaborated, increased 11% year-on-year to a record-breaking 24.5 billion. This is notably the second consecutive quarter in which the industry has recorded a record volume of bets and reflects a 9% increase in average monthly active accounts.

Additionally, real event betting GGY was up 16% to £625 million ($800 million) despite a 7% decrease in the number of bets. In the meantime, the average monthly active accounts increased by 11%. The UKGC attributed these figures to high-profile sporting events, such as UEFA Euro 2024.

Slots GGY, on the other hand, was up 10% year-on-year to £642 million ($822 million) in Q1 2024-25. The overall number of spins, for context, stood at a stellar 22.4 billion, marking an increase of 12% year-on-year. Additionally, the average monthly active accounts in Q1 increased 11% to 4.4 billion a month.

The UKGC noted that the slots GGY, spins and monthly active users all mark new quarterly records.

Further data showed that the number of online slots sessions lasting longer than an hour increased by 8% year-on-year to 9.6 million. Despite that, the average session length remained consistent at 17 minutes, with only 6% of all sessions lasting more than an hour.

Finally, the UKGC reported that LBO GGY was down 1% year-on-year to £582 million ($745 million) in Q1 2024-25. The UKGC added that the number of total bets and spins decreased by 1% to 3.2 billion.

UK Gaming Is Experiencing Ongoing Reforms

In other news, the UK gaming sector could experience some changes amid governmental shifts. Keir Starmer’s triumph at the elections led to changes that are likely to have some effect on Britain’s ongoing gaming reforms.

Of note, the government just unveiled its new ministerial team, led by Lisa Nandy, appointing Baroness Fiona Twycross as the country’s newest gambling minister.

The British Betting and Gaming Council pledged to cooperate with the new government and drive significant evidence-led change.