The UK Gambling Commission have reported a 7% growth in the British betting and gaming space through the first quarter of 2025.
British Gambling Market On The Rise With 7% Growth In Q1 2025
Data for January-March – which covers 80% of licensed operators in the United Kingdom – showed a 7% increase in online casino betting from 2024.
Britain’s online gross gambling yield (GGY) increased from £1.3 billion to £1.45 billion as the market displays significant signs of growth despite a number of regulatory changes and market saturation.
Despite beating out the number from Q1 last year, it didn’t touch the £1.54 billion recorded in Q4 of 2024.
The Cheltenham Festival – one of the nation’s biggest horse racing events – continues to drive traffic in early March and with so many short-priced favourites being turned over, it played into the casinos’ hands even further.
Betway’s Head of Global Communications and PR told ABC News: “Obviously for bookmakers, it was a Cheltenham to remember.
“It’s very rare that so many well fancied shots get beaten, so there was definitely no moaning from our side.”
Retail Betting Continues To Decline As Online Wagering Increases
Retail wagering fell by 3% to £554 million and spins fell by 5% to £3.1 billion as punters opted for online sports betting apps instead, which is a trend expected to continue as time moves on.
There was a rise of 5% in real event betting to £6.5 million but the number of bets fell by 1% and average active monthly accounts also dropped 2%.
Online Slots Make Up 47% Of GGY In Q1 2025
Even though spins fell, slots still accounted for 47% of online GGY in Q1 and the £689 million in slots revenue is 11% more than in the same period last year.
Players also spent more time on slots, with the number of sessions lasting longer than hour increasing by 5% to 10.1 million – the average sitting at 17 minutes.
During the fourth quarter of 2024, it was online slots that enjoyed the biggest growth with an 11% increase as spins rose by 6% to £23.4 billion.
The average number of monthly active accounts in that period grew by 6% to 4.5 million, reaching an all-time high.
Joe Lyons is a betting industry writer for GamblingIndustryNews with years of experience on reputable gambling websites. Joe specialises in long form content in the world of sports betting and gambling. Joe is recognised as an expert in sports fields such as horse racing, soccer, NFL and NBA.
