The Gambling Commission’s latest quarterly report provides a detailed comparison of gambling market dynamics between the fourth quarter of the 2022-2023 and 2023-2024 financial years.

Online gambling reaches new heights

In the fourth quarter of the 2023-2024 financial year, the online gambling sector recorded a 5% increase in gross gaming yield (GGY), totaling £1,4 billion (£1,75 billion of dollars).

This growth is supported by a 10% increase in the total number of bets and spins, reaching a new peak of 24 billion. As a result, the average monthly active accounts in the online segment saw a moderate increase of 2%.

Slots and online betting trends

The surge in online GGY was mainly driven by online slots, which saw an 11% increase in GGY to £614m.

The number of spins associated with online slots increased by 12%, while the average monthly active slots accounts increased by 7%, reaching 4,2 million per month. In contrast, gross turnover from real-world betting grew marginally by 2% to £565m, even as the number of bets fell by 6%.

Challenges in the retail sector

The retail betting market did not fare as well, with licensed betting operators (LBOs) seeing a 3% decline in GGY to £568m.

The total number of bets and spins in this sector also decreased slightly by 1% to 3,3 billion. This decline reflects the wider challenges facing high street betting operations.

Wider participation in gambling

Findings from the Gambling Commission’s Gambling Survey for Great Britain (GSCB) indicate that 48% of respondents had gambled in the past four weeks.