Gambling Commission reveals 8% annual growth of UK online industry

Online gambling accounted for 40% of the UK market’s overall gross gambling yield (GGY) last year, according to the latest figures from the UK Gambling Commission (UKGC). Remote sector GGY increased by 8% and £426.3m to £5.7bn between April 2019 and March 2020.

Providing a bi-annual update in November, the UKGC’s reporting period was sandwiched between two seismic events for the industry – the implementation of FOBT stake cuts in retail and the beginning of the coronavirus pandemic. The last 11 days of the reporting period saw betting shops closed and sporting events cancelled due to Covid-19. Remote gambling is the largest combined sector in GGY terms. Online casino games dominated the division, generating £3.2bn in GGY, mostly from slots. Remote sports betting GGY totalled £2.3bn, led by football and betting on horseracing, while remote bingo grew modestly at 1% to £176.8m. Overall industry GGY reached £14.2bn during the period, representing a marginal annual decrease of £84.1m or -0.6%. According to the UKGC, the number of licensed activities has decreased to 3,528 (-3.5%). These licences are held by 2,576 operators (-4.2%). The overall number of licensed gambling premises in Great Britain fell by 685 to 10,098 (-6.4%). The majority of these were betting premises, which declined by 639 (-7.7%). UK operators including William Hill have reduced their reliance on retail since FOBT stake cuts were introduced after it became more difficult to maintain profitability in shops.