Online gross gambling yield across the UK saw a 21% year-on-year increase in Q4, reaching £1.54 billion, fueled by record spins and yield for online slots. The record results come despite a 3% slip in the number of average monthly active players. However, despite that fall, the numbers can only be seen as positive for the UK gambling industry.
The UK has fully regulated gambling markets. Online and retail sports betting operators and casinos are licensed in the country. Online casinos in the country offer a wide range of games, from roulette to slots, and have substantial bonuses and offers (source: casinofever.co.uk/). According to casino expert Elias Malo, UK online casinos also include some of the latest features, like live dealer games, while offering secure GBP payments.
Although many sites are licensed in the UK, offshore casinos are permitted to offer services to UK players as long as they declare their interest and pay the appropriate tax on UK-based revenue. Offshore casinos have been regulated in the UK since 2011. The size of the market makes this appealing to a lot of casinos. And, so well developed is the UK industry that it generates more than £5 billion a year in revenue. According to the latest figures, that revenue is only set to increase, too.
Q4 ended on 31 December 2024 and brought with it a record quarter for online gambling in the UK. Gross Gambling Yield (GGY) reached £1.54 billion for all online gambling activities. This was up significantly from the £1.3 billion registered during the same period in 2023 and also from the £1.32 billion posted for the third quarter of 2024.
Online bets, which include spins at online slots, reached a record-high figure of 25.9 billion during the timeframe, which is especially impressive considering there was a 3% decline in monthly active players. Slots GGY during the period reached £709 million. The record-high figure represents a 15% increase. Total spins on online slots were up 9% to 23.9 billion, which was also a record for the industry.
Monthly active slot accounts increased 10% for the period. Part of this increase came as a result of one operator reclassifying other games as slots during the quarter. During the period, play time session length was up slightly to 18 minutes per session. 6% of all slot sessions were over one hour, which is a slight decline from the 7% the year before.
Excluding slots, other online gaming saw a 2% annual increase to £151.9 million in the quarter. Individually, however, poker performed poorly, posting a 19% decline to £12.7 million.
Land-based gambling also saw increases during the period. Q4 saw £592 million of physical bets and wagers placed. This represents a 5% increase. This increase came despite a decrease in total bets and spins, down to 3.1 billion, which is a 4% decline. Gaming machines were the most popular form of physical gambling, accounting for nearly £280 million of the total.
Again, the increase came despite sessions dropping. There were 22.8 million machine gaming sessions – a fall of 4%. But, when people did play game machines, they played them for longer as the quarter saw a 6% increase in sessions that lasted longer than an hour. 621,772 gaming sessions lasted longer than 60 minutes.
The UK government has introduced new gambling legislation, which means more background affordability checks will be completed on players who gamble regularly. New rules for slot machines are also set to be introduced, primarily ensuring that games are not too short, while autoplay features will also be banned to ensure that players know exactly how much they are betting and their current position.
