The Gambling Commission has reported that the sector grew by 7 per cent year-on-year.

UK.- The latest report from the British Gambling Commission shows that the online gambling sector continues to grow despite the introduction of new online casino stake limits in September and a pilot of financial risk checks. Figures for the quarter ending March 31 covering 80 per cent of licensed operators show a 7 per cent annual increase in online gross gambling yield (GGY) to £1.45bn.

Online slots yield rose by 11 per cent year-on-year but fell by 2.9 per cent sequentially to £689m. The number of spins climbed by 6 per cent year-on-year to 23.4bn and active monthly accounts reached a new record of 4.5m, also up by 6 per cent. 

In real-event betting, wagers were down year-on-year, but GGY rose by 5 per cent to €6.5m, boosted by favorable outcomes for bookmakers during the Cheltenham Festival.

However, GGY across all gambling segments was down by 5.2 per cent to £1.45bn. That’s because the land-based sector continued to decline, with retail betting yield down 3 per cent year-on-year at £554m amid a 5 per cent drop in bets. 

Over-the-counter bets were down by 6 per cent but GGY held up at £152m. Revenue from self-service betting terminals (SSBTs) was down by 1 per cent at £125m. Land-based gaming machine GGY declined by 5 per cent to £276m, although average session volumes remained steady at 130 spins per session.

The British quarterly record for GGY is still that of Q4 2020, when it peaked at £1.66bn amid the Covid-19 pandemic.

Land-based gaming consultation extended 

The Gambling Commission’s executive director Tim Miller announced in a speech to the Bingo Association’s AGM that the deadline for the ongoing consultation on land-based gambling reforms has been pushed back from May 20 until June 3 to allow stakeholders more time to provide feedback.

He said the regulator remains “keen to hear workable alternatives to our proposals. But we also need to be clear. The starting point for alternatives should aim to achieve the same policy objectives. There is no going backwards when it comes to consumer safety here.”