UK Gambling Statistics and Trends 2024
The UK has one of the most mature regulated gambling markets in the world and is second only to the United States in terms of generated revenues.
Retail sports betting and bingo were the traditional market leaders for decades in Britain but have been surpassed by the remote gaming sector (online gambling) which now accounts for roughly 40% of gambling revenues generated each year [10].
Online Gambling in the UK
Online gambling was officially legalised in the UK (England, Northern-Ireland, Wales and Scotland) in 2005 when the Gambling Act 2005 was signed into law. Soon afterwards the UK Gambling Commission (UKGC) was established in 2007 and tasked with regulatory oversight of both the land-based and online markets. [14]
Key Statistics for Online Gambling Businesses in the United Kingdom
In October 2024 the UK Gambling Commission (UKGC) released its latest market impact data on gambling behaviour [7], covering operator data up to October 2024. This report provides insights into the gambling industry’s performance in Great Britain, comparing Quarter 2 (July to September) of the financial year 2024-2025 with the same period in 2023-2024.
Key Findings:
- Online Gambling:
- Gross Gambling Yield (GGY): Online GGY increased by 0.6% year-on-year, reaching £1.2 billion.
- Total Bets/Spins: There was a 10% year-on-year increase in the total number of bets and spins.
- Active Accounts: The average monthly active accounts rose by 7%.
- Real Event Betting:
- GGY: Decreased by 5% year-on-year to £428 million.
- Total Bets: Decreased by 1%.
- Active Accounts: Slight decrease of 0.2%.
- Online Slots:
- GGY: Increased by 8% to £589 million.
- Spins: Number of spins rose by 11%.
- Active Accounts: Average monthly active accounts increased by 11% to 3.8 million.
- Sessions Over One Hour: Sessions lasting longer than an hour increased by 4% to 9.3 million.
- Average Session Length: Decreased to 17 minutes, with approximately 7% of all sessions lasting more than one hour.
- Licensed Betting Operators (LBOs):
- GGY: Decreased by 0.4% to nearly £539 million.
- Total Bets/Spins: Decreased by 1% to 3.1 billion.
These figures indicate a modest growth in the online gambling sector, particularly in online slots, while real event betting and in-person betting through LBOs have experienced slight declines. The UKGC continues to monitor these trends to inform regulatory decisions and ensure consumer protection.
Online Gambling Customer Segments
As of June 2023, data indicated that sports betting operators have the highest number of monthly active users (MAU) in the online industry with 4.9 million customers [8].
National lottery gambling is the most popular form of online gambling activity in the UK where 15.2% of the population buys tickets for National Lottery draws online [1].
| Online Gambling Vertical | Active Customers (June 2023) | Bets placed (2022) |
|---|---|---|
| Sports betting | 4,928,477 | 3.5 billion |
| Slots | 3,853,140 | 74.7 billion |
| Other betting (incl. casino games) | 2,414,196 | 3.8 billion |
| Virtual betting | 216,589 | 139.3 million |
| Poker | 175,531 | 886.9 million |
The average online gaming session per user has declined from 26 minutes in 2019 to 16 minutes in 2023 [8]. There were 506.7 million individual online gambling sessions in the 2022 calendar year [8].
Licensed Gambling Premises in the UK
There are currently 9,084 premises in the UK that are licensed to offer some form of gambling activity [6]. London has the highest density of licensed gambling premises with 482 commercial properties [6].
Gambling Premises by Type
- Adult gaming centres: 1,405
- Betting shops: 6,661
- Bingo halls: 582
- Casinos : 175
- Family entertainment centres: 191
Land Based Casinos In England, Scotland, Wales & Northern Ireland
Grosvenor Casinos is the largest casino operator in the UK with 53 casinos currently in operation [6].
Casino operators Grosvenor Casinos and Genting run 53% of all UK land-based casinos [6].
Betting Shops AKA “Bookies”
William Hill is the largest betting shop operator in the UK with 1,342 stores located across the country. However, this number has dropped significantly since 2018 when the company operated over 2,200 betting shops [6].
Bingo Halls
Bingo operator Gala has the highest number of bingo halls in the UK with 99 bingo halls dotted throughout the country [6].
UK Gambling Revenues
The most recent gross gambling yield (GGY) figures for the entire UK gambling sector show that the industry generated £14.1 billion ($17.6 billion/€16.4 billion) for FY21/22. This was a 10.9% increase compared to the previous year [9].
When National Lottery gambling is excluded, UK GGY for FY21/22 came to £9.9 billion ($12.4 billion/€11.5 billion) [10].
Online Gambling Revenue
FY22/23 saw the online gambling industry generate revenues of £4.9 billion ($6.1 billion/€5.7 billion). This marks a 23.4% decrease on FY21/22’s total of £6.4 billion ($8 billion/€7.4 billion) [8].
| Online Gambling Vertical | GGY FY 22/23 |
|---|---|
| Slots | £2.24 billion/$2.8 billion/€2.6 billion |
| Casino | £619.3 million/$776.4 million/€722.4 million |
| Betting (Real Event) | £1.93 billion/$2.4 billion/€2.2 billion |
| Betting (Virtual) | £47.8 million/$59.9 million/€55.7 million |
| Betting (eSports) | £7.7 million/$9.6 million/€8.9 million |
| Poker | £72 million/$90.4 million/€84 million |
| Other | £8.3 million/$10.4 million/€9.7 million |
Land-based Gambling Revenue (Arcades, Betting, Bingo, Casino)
The land-based gambling sector reported gross gaming yield of £3.5 billion ($4.4 billion/€4.1 billion) in FY21/22 [10]
Across FY21/22, gaming machines generated £1.8 billion ($2.25 billion/€2.1 billion) in GGY [10]
In FY21/22, land-based casinos reported GGY of £691.8 million ($867.2 million/€806.9 million). This was made up of casino gaming revenues of £511.2 million ($640.8 million/€596.1 million) and casino machine revenues of £180.6 million ($226.4 million/€210.6 million) [10]
Licensed Betting Operator (LBO) Revenue
The biggest licensed betting operators (LBOs) cover around 85% of all retail betting. Reports from these operators are used primarily by the UKGC when aggregating GGY for retail sports betting [8]. FY 22/23 saw retail LOBs generate GGY of £2.26 billion ($2.8 billion/€2.6 billion) [8].
| In-person Betting Product | GGY FY 22/23 |
|---|---|
| Over the Counter | £684.3 million/$858.2 million/€798.4 million |
| Self-Service Betting Terminals (SSBT) | £415.1 million/$520.7 million/€484.3 million |
| Machines | £1.1 billion/$1.37 billion/€1.28 billion |
Gambling Participation
How many people in Britain gamble, what do they wager on, and how often?
All Gambling Activity
According to the UK Gambling Commission, as many as 44% of adults surveyed gambled at least once in the past four weeks [1].
Adult males have the highest rate of gambling participation at 45.2% while adult females have a rate of 41.8% [1].
The 45-54 age bracket has the highest prevalence of gambling with 49.4% of those surveyed betting regularly [1].
FY 22/23 (April 2022-March 2023) saw 23.6 million people in the UK spend money on gambling [9].
71% of students in the UK gambled at some point in 2022 [5].
In-person Gambling Participation
27% of those surveyed have placed a bet in-person at either a bookmaker or a casino in the past four weeks (up to May 2023). This is still short of the pre-pandemic rate of 35% in 2019 [1].
Males had the highest participation rate for in-person gambling at 28.1% while females have a rate of 25% [1].
In-person gambling is much more popular with the older generation as 29.1% of people who placed bets in a commercial setting were in the 65+ age bracket [1].
Online Gambling Participation
Online gambling participation stands at 26%, the same rate in 2019 before the pandemic caused a surge in the online industry [1].
Broken down by gender, males have an online gambling participation rate at 27%. The female rate is slightly lower at 25% [1].
45-54 year olds gamble online more than any other age bracket with a participation rate of 35.6% [1].
Activity by Gambling Type
According to the UKGC, gamblers who were surveyed took part in the following gambling activities [1].
| Gambling Type | % of Respondents |
|---|---|
| National Lottery draws | 27.6% |
| Scratch cards | 7.5% |
| Another Lottery | 13.4% |
| Fruit or slot machines | 3.3% |
| Virtual gaming machines in a bookmakers | 1.2% |
| Bingo | 2.4% |
| Football pools | 1.4% |
| Horse races | 3.5% |
| Dog races | 0.4% |
| Sports betting | 5.1% |
| Betting on other events | 0.8% |
| Virtual dog or horse races | 0.4% |
| Spread betting | 0.3% |
| Online slot machine style games / instant wins | 4.8% |
| Casino games | 1.2% |
| Poker at a pub / club | 0.5% |
| Private betting | 4.0% |
| Any other activity | 0.8% |
In the online gambling industry, National Lottery draws and other lotteries are the most popular forms of online gambling activity with 24.1% of adults surveyed entering lottery draws online [1].
Sports betting is the next most popular online gambling activity with 4.1% of adults wagering on sports such as football and rugby through online bookmakers and sports betting apps [1].
National Lottery draws and other lotteries also account for the highest rate of participation in the in-person industry with 19.4% of adults wagering at commercial properties [1].
Bingo and horse racing are the next most popular in-person gambling types with participation rates of 1.7% and 1.6% respectively [1].
Gambling Among 11-17 Year-olds
The 2024 Young People and Gambling Report carried out by the UKGC found that:
- 27% of 11-17-year-olds used their own money for gambling within the past 12 months.
- 21% spent their own money on regulated gambling activities.
- 80% of those who spent money on gambling did so for fun.
- 26% reported that gambling makes them feel happy, an increase from 17% in 2023.
- 15% spent their own money on unregulated gambling activities.
- 1.5% of young people in 2023 experienced gambling problems, up from 0.7%.
- 8% said gambling has caused tension in their home.
- 12% stated that a family member’s gambling had financially supported things at home.
Problem Gambling In the UK – Stats & Research
In 2023, 0.5% of the population (approximately 246,000 people) are considered problem gamblers while 3.8% (2.2 million people) are ‘at-risk’ gamblers that may soon develop a problem [2].
The 16-24 year old age bracket shows the highest prevalence of problem gambling with 1% of gamblers this age reporting having issues [1].
Males are more likely to develop a gambling problem as 4.4% of men are identified as taking part in at-risk or problem gambling activities compared to 1.1% of women [3].
Men are more likely to be identified as engaging in at-risk or problem gambling than women. 4.4% of men and 1.1% of women were identified as engaging in at-risk or problem gambling according to their PGSI scores [3].
The proportion of adults identified as engaging in at-risk or problem gambling is highest amongst those aged 35 to 44 (4.5%) and 45 to 54 (3.7%) [3].
Self Exclusion Statistics
- 341,365 people have signed up to the UK’s national self-exclusion program GAMSTOP since it first launched in 2018 [4].
- 84,000 people registered with GAMSTOP in 2022 [4].
- March 2023 saw the highest number of registrations at GAMSTOP in a single month as 8,504 people signed up to self exclude [4].
- Among students surveyed by GAMSTOP in 2022, 28% were found to be at moderate risk while 24% were already classed as problem gamblers [5].
The Costs of Gambling in the UK
A 2023 economic analysis by the UK government estimated that the cost of harms associated with gambling is approximately £412.9 million ($517.3 million/€481.3 million). [16]
According to NatCen Social Research, there are 420,000 gamblers in the UK that lose at least £2,000 ($2,505/€2,331) per year. [15]
From 2021 to 2022 gambling health impacts cost the government about £1.35 billion ($1.69 billion/€1.57 billion). [16]
Key UK Health Statistics Related to Gambling
- Gambling-related suicides: 117-496 deaths [16]
- Depression: 69,099 people [16]
- Alcohol dependence: 20,658 people [16]
- Illicit drug use: 628 people [16]
UK Gambling Industry Fines
FY 22/23 saw the UK Gambling Commission issue a total of £60.1 million ($75.6 million/€70.4 million) in fines and regulatory settlements to 24 licensed gambling operators [11]
The largest fine in the history of the UKGC is the £19.2 million ($24 million/€21.8 million) fine issued to William Hill for serious social responsibility and anti-money laundering failures at three of its gambling businesses [12]
The previous record was the £17 million ($21.2 million/€20.2 million) fine issued to Entain in August of 2022 after an investigation uncovered social responsibility and anti-money laundering failures at the company’s online and land-based businesses [13]
Sources
- https://www.gamblingcommission.gov.uk/statistics-and-research/
- https://addictionsuk.com/blogs/the-gambling-problem-in-the-uk/
- https://digital.nhs.uk/data-and-information/publications/statistical/health-survey-for-england/2021-part-2/gambling
- https://www.about.gamstop.co.uk/blog/record-registrations
- https://www.ygam.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/Annual-Student-Gambling-Survey-Feb-2023.pdf
- https://www.gamblingcommission.gov.uk/public-register/premises/full
- https://www.gamblingcommission.gov.uk/public-register/businesses/full/1
- https://www.gamblingcommission.gov.uk/statistics-and-research/publication/market-overview-operator-data-to-june-2023-published-august-2023
- https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/
- https://www.gamblingcommission.gov.uk/statistics-and-research/publication/industry-statistics-november-2022
- https://gamblingindustrynews.com/gambling-industry-fines/
- https://gamblingindustrynews.com/news/regulation/ukgc-fines-william-hill-19-2-million/
- https://gamblingindustrynews.com/news/regulation/ukgc-entain-record-fine/
- https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2005/19/contents
- https://www.begambleaware.org/sites/default/files/2022-06/Patterns%20of%20Play_Summary%20Report_final%5B2281%5D_0.pdf
- https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/gambling-related-harms-evidence-review/gambling-related-harms-evidence-review-summary–2#discussion
Ciaran has been working within the Gambling Industry as a deep analyst since 2019. His deep knowledge and understanding of all the gambling regulations, and processes makes him a true asset, and an always valuable point of view for Gambling Industry News, allowing us to cover every topics from a brand new perspective.
