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The UK Gambling Commission has reported a four percent year-on-year increase in gross gambling yield (GGY) for the three-month period ending on December 31, 2023. The Q3 statistics offer insights into gambling activity in Great Britain, with the Commission attributing the region’s impressive total of £1.3 billion to both slot gaming and real event betting.
Another Great Year For Online Slots
Far from surprising is the fact that online slots have had yet another great year. This all-time favorite game has been the main source of such promising statistics in Britain. In Q3 alone, slots generated an astonishing £618m, 6% more than 2022, and, a record breaking quarterly figure.
According to the commission, there was an 11% increase in the total number of spins, or a whopping 22 billion, with the monthly average active accounts soaring up to 8%, or four million. With new providers joining the sector, this upward trend can only continue. Of course, many players may possibly continue playing at their trusted providers, while others prefer to register through NoDepositCasino.guide, where only top tier operators offering no deposit slots are listed.
Additional Findings
In other areas, the gross gambling yield (GGY) from real-event betting reached £468 million, marking a 5% increase year-on-year. This growth occurred despite a 3% decrease in the number of bets and active accounts compared to the previous year. The Commission attributed this trend to the occurrence of the Fifa World Cup in Q3 of 2022.
Additional GGY in Q3 stemmed from various sources including online casino, virtual betting, esports betting, casino, and poker. GGY from online casino games amounted to £159.7 million, virtual betting reached £12.0 million, esports betting totaled £2.4 million, and poker amounted to £17.6 million. An additional £2.0 million was generated from other sources.
Land-Based Gambling
Regarding land-based gambling, the Q3 results were described by the Commission as somewhat mixed. Machines emerged as the primary source of gross gambling yield (GGY), totaling £293 million, reflecting a 3% decrease from the previous year. The average spend per session also experienced a 1% decline to £12.41 during this period, with the average number of spins dropping to 131.
Over-the-counter GGY experienced a 3% decline to £153 million, accompanied by a corresponding 3% decrease in the number of bets to 135 million. The Commission noted that these figures represent the lowest recorded numbers since venues have been fully operational for an entire quarter.
However, self-service betting terminals (SSBTs) enjoyed a more positive outcome, with the GGY surging by 17% to £116 million. Additionally, the number of SSBT bets increased by 10% to 39 million, marking the highest quarter on record.
Safer Gambling Indicators
In addition to GGY, the betting industry regulator also released data on safer gambling indicators in Q3. Notably, there was a 3% increase in the number of online slots sessions exceeding one hour, reaching 9.8 million, marking the highest quarter since data collection commenced. Total sessions saw a 7% increase, while the average session length decreased to 17 minutes.
Customer interactions decreased by 2% to 2.9 million, with the majority being automated. The number of direct interactions conducted by operators in this dataset declined by 10% compared to the previous year. Regarding the land-based market, the total number of machine sessions lasting more than one hour decreased to 2%, down from 3% in 2022.
Problem Gambling Rates
The problem gambling epidemic in the UK shows no signs of abating, with new data released by the Commission indicating that it is more than eight times higher than previously estimated. It is now suggested that approximately 1.3 million people in Great Britain are struggling with gambling issues, a figure that is likely to continue growing alongside the industry.
While the industry undoubtedly contributes to the economy by providing numerous employment opportunities and revenue streams, it is crucial that the concerning problem gambling rates do not go unnoticed.
