The total gross gambling yield (GGY) for online gambling in the UK in the second quarter increased by 12% year-over-year, reaching 1.46 billion GBP (1.73 billion EUR/1.87 billion USD), with total bets and spins reaching a historical high for the second consecutive quarter.
UK players placed a total of 24.5 billion bets and spins from April to June, an 11% increase from the same period last year, marking a new quarterly high since the UKGC began publishing player data in 2019.
According to UKGC data, online slots were the main source of GGY, reaching 642 million GBP, a 10% increase from last year. May was the busiest month for online slot games, with GGY reaching 217.9 million GBP.
This quarter, consumers made a total of 22.4 billion spins, up 12% from last year. However, the duration of slot game sessions was slightly shorter, at 17 minutes, compared to just under 18 minutes in the same period last year.
As for the number of people playing online slots, the total number of active players in this field reached 13.3 million during this period, a 10.8% increase from the previous year.
2024 European Championship Boosts Real Event Betting GGY
Speaking of real event betting, the growth rate of GGY exceeded any other sector, with GGY reaching 625 million GBP in the second quarter, a 16% increase year-over-year. The commission stated that major sporting events, including the 2024 European Championship, drove this growth.
This is evident from the monthly activities, with June (the month the 2024 European Championship kicked off in Germany) having the highest GGY at 228.9 million GBP.
However, the number of online gambling bets in the second quarter decreased by 7.4% year-over-year to 921 million bets, with April being the month with the highest number of bets, reaching 340.4 million bets.
The scale of active players in live event betting reached 19.4 million, a 10.9% increase from the previous year.
Further Growth in Online Casinos
As for other market segments, the GGY for online casino table games (excluding slots) rose by 9.3% to 159.6 million GBP in the second quarter. Meanwhile, the total betting amount increased by 9.6% to 1.02 billion GBP, and the number of active players increased by 6.7% to 8 million.
Poker GGY fell by 14.0% to 14.1 million GBP, and virtual gambling GGY fell by 2.9% to 10.2 million GBP.
However, esports betting GGY rose by 30.5% to 4.3 million GBP this quarter, while online gambling GGY in non-listed vertical industries increased by 5.3% to 2 million GBP.
Retail Gambling Takes a Hit
Looking at physical gambling, which covers about 85% of the UK's retail gambling market, off-site GGY slid by 7.0% to 168.4 million GBP, but self-service betting terminals GGY rose by 7.3% to 123.9 million GBP. The commission also noted that machine GGY slightly declined to 290.1 million GBP in the second quarter.
In terms of activity, the total bets and spins in the retail sector decreased by 1%, to 3.2 billion times. Additionally, the total number of machine sessions in the second quarter decreased by 1.3%, to 23.7 million times.
