UK gambling industry GGY rises to $6.01 billion in Q4 as online betting dominates, regulator says

Britain's gambling industry generated £4.5 billion ($6.01 billion) in gross gambling yield (GGY) during the fourth quarter of 2025, up 2.27% from a year earlier, as online gambling continued to dominate the market, according to quarterly statistics released by the Gambling Commission.

The regulator reported that GGY, a measure of revenue retained by operators after winnings are paid out, reached £4.5 billion in the October-to-December period, compared with £4.4 billion ($5.87 billion) in the same quarter of 2024. Excluding lotteries, GGY totaled £3.3 billion ($4.4 billion).

Remote casino, betting and bingo activities generated £2.12 billion ($2.83 billion) in GGY during the quarter, with remote casino gaming accounting for £1.49 billion ($1.98 billion), or 70% of the segment's total revenue.

Land-based gambling sectors, including arcades, betting shops, bingo halls and casinos, generated about £1.2 billion ($1.6 billion) in GGY, while non-remote betting contributed £613 million ($817.9 million), representing 48.2% of total non-remote gambling revenue.

The figures underscored the continued shift toward online gambling. Turnover for remote casino, betting and bingo reached £39.18 billion ($52.27 billion) in the quarter, generating £2.12 billion ($2.83 billion) in GGY. Remote betting contributed £599.05m ($799.3 million), while remote bingo generated £38.66 million ($51.58 million).

For the full year, aggregate remote casino, betting and bingo GGY reached £5.55 billion ($7.4 billion), reinforcing online gambling's position as the industry's primary revenue driver.

The Gambling Commission's latest Gambling Survey for Great Britain (GSGB), conducted between Sept. 22, 2025 and Jan. 18, 2026, found that 47% of respondents had participated in some form of gambling during the previous four weeks. Excluding lottery-only participants, the figure fell to 26%.

Online gambling participation stood at 37%, compared with 27% for in-person gambling. When lottery-only participants were excluded, online participation dropped to 15% and in-person gambling to 17%.

The survey found gambling participation was highest among people aged 55 to 64, with 56% reporting gambling activity in the previous four weeks. Participation rates were 54% among those aged 45 to 54 and 51% among those aged 35 to 44.

Younger adults aged 18 to 24 reported lower overall participation at 31%, although they were more likely to engage in non-lottery gambling products.

Men continued to report higher gambling participation than women, with 49% of men participating in gambling activities compared with 44% of women. Online gambling participation was 41% among men and 34% among women, while betting activity showed one of the widest gender gaps, with participation rates of 13% for men and 4% for women.

The survey also showed that lottery products remained the most popular form of gambling. About 31% of respondents reported purchasing National Lottery draw tickets in the previous four weeks, while participation in lottery draws rose to 36% when charity lotteries were included.

National Lottery ticket sales reached £2.02 billion ($2.7 billion) during the quarter and contributed £415.11 million ($554 million) to good causes. Large society lotteries contributed an additional £126.2 million ($168 million).

The regulator also announced plans to conduct an AI-powered marketing sweep aimed at identifying gambling advertisements that may be unsuitable for under-18s.

"If we identify ads that break the rules, we will require you to amend or remove the ad immediately and, if you fail to comply, we will impose sanctions, which may include referral to the platform hosting the ad and/or the Gambling Commission," the regulator said in a notice to operators.

The Gambling Commission reported that the UK gambling sector operated 8,148 licensed premises during the quarter, including 5,669 betting shops, and housed 191,325 gaming machines across licensed venues.