UK Gambling Commission Q3: Online GGY up 11% as slots revenue reaches record high

The UK Gambling Commission latest market overview shows the 11% GGY increase was driven largely by a 16% uptick in online slots activity among UK gamblers.  

The number of monthly active accounts rose 8%, while total bets across all verticals was up 12% to £25.2 billion. The figures for Q3 did not surpass the previous quarter’s £1.46bn GGY.

New high for slots GGY 

Slots GGY hit a new high of £680 million for the period, although the average number of spins per session dropped from 147 to 142 year-on-year and the GGY per session fell from £4.20 to £4.13.  

Notably, slots sessions are lasting longer than they used to, with the number of users playing for over an hour increasing 9% to 10 million. Total slots sessions also ticked up by 18% to 164.7 million. Although the data notes the average session length remained at 17 minutes. 

The UK Gambling Commission did note that during the period one operator had reclassified some of its products into the slot vertical this quarter, which had an impact on the vertical data. 

The data covers revenues recorded by the largest licensed operators in the market, although the Gambling Commission does not break down which are included.

Online wagering revenue up despite number of bets decreasing

Online real event betting GGY was lifted by 6% year-on-year to £453 million. The data suggests bettors are wagering higher amounts as the number of bets decreased 10%, but overall there were more average monthly active accounts (up 9%).  

Retail betting continued its slow descent during Q3, as operator earnings first noted. GGY fell 1% to £533 million, while the number of total bets remained flat with a 0.1% decrease to 3.1 billion. 

The number of bets placed over the counter decreased to 134 million (down 6%) in the quarter compared to the same period last year, while GGY dropped 8% to £152 million. However, engagement with self-service betting terminals is on the rise (up 9%).