GB online gambling yield down in November as real event margins normalise

Total market GGY in November amounted to £471.5m (€532.6m/$644.4m), according to data collected from operators accounting for 80% of the British market.

The Commission has published yield data for the market’s performance for each month of the novel coronavirus (Covid-19) pandemic.

The regulator said the main reason for the decline in GGY was normalisation of margins in real event betting, with GGY down 28% from £290.0m in October to £209.2m. However, real event betting remains the largest vertical by GGY, with total bets and the number of active accounts both up by 4%.

According to the data, the next largest market was online slots, with GGY here up 3% month-on-month to £176.8m in November.

The number of online slot spins increased 4% to over 5.2bn, while the amount of active accounts increased 1% to 2.8m, the highest monthly total from within the Covid-19 period.

Average loss per player in slots was higher than any other online gambling product, with this standing at almost £63, compared to £43 for real event betting and £35 for casino.

The total number of online slots sessions also increased 2% to just over 27.5m, while the average number of spins per session also climbed slightly.

Elsewhere, GGY for other gaming, including casino, was up 6% month-on-month to £66.4m, with some 271.8m bets placed, while online poker GGY climbed 9% in November to £9.1m.

Virtual betting GGY was also up 8% to £7.2m, while esports betting GGY rocketed 78% to £1.4m.

The Commission noted that as a result of a tightening of lockdown restrictions in Great Britain, with many staff furloughed as facilities were closed, it did not request data from licensed betting operators (LBOs) for the month.

The regulator said it will restart collecting this data when retail facilities are able to reopen. There is no indication when this will be, with all English properties closed during the country’s third national lockdown.