UKGC reveals Q2 UK gambling report, revealing an increase in slots gross gambling yield and participation

The UK Gambling Commission (UKGC) has revealed its second-quarter report (July to September), covering data from UK land-based and online operators. The online gross gaming yield (GGY) totaled £1.2 billion ($1.46 billion), a 0.6% year-on-year increase, driven by slots, whereas the GGY for nearly all other verticals decreased.

The total number of bets and spins increased by 10%, while the average monthly active accounts increased by 7% year-on-year, as per UKGC data. The betting brought in from slots saw the GGY increase by 8% to a total of £589 million ($712.7 million). The number of online slot sessions that lasted over an hour was up by 4% to 9.3 million, with the number of total sessions growing by 8%.

However, the average online session length decreased to 17 minutes when compared to the same period the previous year, which was 19 minutes, although the figure is consistent with Q1 2023. Approximately 7% of all sessions lasted more than one hour.

Online real event betting GGY also decreased by 5% to £428 million ($519.8 million), with total bets decreasing by 1%. 

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— Gambling Commission (@GamRegGB) October 18, 2023

GGY for offline betting reduced by 0.4% Y-o-Y

As for offline betting, the GGY from licensed betting operators decreased by 0.4% to £539 million ($652.2 million) in Q2 2023, while the total bets and spins decreased by 1% to 3.1 billion.

Over-the-counter bets decreased by one percent year-on-year in Q2 to 142 million. The GGY for the vertical was reduced by 0.1% to £166 million ($200.8 million). The bets on self-service betting terminals rose by 20% YoY to 31.5 million, and its GGY declined by 1 % to £93 million ($112.5 million).

Machine GGY decreased by 0.4% YoY to £280 million ($338.7 million) with an average number of spins per session of 128 and an average spend per session remaining consistent at £12.09. The proportion of total machine sessions lasting more than an hour fell to 2% for the first time in nine quarters after previously remaining consistent at 3%.

The data comes as the UKGC carries out consultations to seek feedback from gambling industry stakeholders on the UK government’s white paper proposals, which include maximum stake limits for online slots.