Latest UK gambling industry statistics show land-based decline and online growth in GGY

The Gambling Commission publishes twice a year (in May and November):

  • industry statistics on the size and shape of the gambling industry in Great Britain and
  • the latest information on each industry sector that it regulates.
It has today (27 May 2021) published its latest such statistics and information, that – unsurprisingly given the consequences flowing from the COVID-19 lockdowns – shows a significant decline in GGY for the land-based sector and GGY growth in the online sector.

The Commission summarises the position as follows on its website:

This Publication provides an overview of Gross Gambling Yield (GGY) by sector, along with the numbers of licensed operators and premises. It is based on data reported to us by the operators we licence and regulate.

With the arrival of COVID-19, the various lockdown rules and restrictions throughout 2020 have brought about significant changes that have impacted on the availability of product and sales channels for the gambling industry. This mainly involved land-based sectors of the industry, but the restrictions also affected live sporting events which would have potential to impact on remote operators. A consequence of this is we have not included estimates where returns have either been late or not yet due as we would not have confidence in their accuracy. We accept that the impact of this may be some figures which understate actual totals. Our methodology page explains estimations further.

The collection of data during this Covid affected period has also impacted on the completeness of the figures with several operators overdue with submitting their returns or have submitted data which is still in question.   

The figures published reflect the uniqueness of this latest reporting period. 

The data file includes historical data back to 2009.

Key facts

  • £5.9bn Total gross gambling yield (GGY) of the gambling industry in Great Britain (Apr – Sep 2020)
  • £4.0bn Total gross gambling yield (GGY) of the gambling industry in Great Britain (excluding lotteries) (Apr – Sep 2020)
  • 9,036 Total number of premises in Great Britain (Sep 2020) (10.8% decrease from Mar 2020)
  • 6,735 Total number of betting shops in Great Britain (Sep 2020) (12.3% decrease from Mar 2020)
  • £470.0m Total GGY for gaming machines in Great Britain (Apr – Sep 2020) (excludes those requiring only a local authority permit)
  • £396.8m Total GGY for category B3 machines in Great Britain (Apr – Sep 2020)
  • £3.1bn Total GGY for Remote Betting, Bingo & Casino Sector (Apr – Sep 2020)
  • £629.3m Total GGY for non-remote betting (including machines) (Apr – Sep 2020)
  • £92.0m Total GGY for non-remote bingo (including machines) (Apr – Sep 2020)
  • £67.0m Total GGY for Non-remote Casino (including machines) (Apr – Sep 2020)
  • £196.8m Contributions to good causes from large society lotteries
  • (Apr – Sep 2020)
  • £775.1m Contributions to good causes from The National Lottery (Apr 2019 – Mar 2020)

Details

  • Total GGY for the industry was £5.9bn in the half year reporting period April 2020 – September 2020. The next full year’s data for reporting period April 2020 – March 2021 is due to be published in November 2021.
  • Remote (or online) gambling is the largest combined sector by GGY. With £3.1bn GGY, it comprises 52.3% of the overall market in this reporting period. Online casino games dominate the sector, generating £1.9bn in GGY, mostly from slots games. GGY for remote betting totalled £1.0bn, led by football and horse betting. GGY for remote bingo totalled £98.1m.
  • National Lottery ticket sales totalled £3.9bn. This supported a GGY equivalent of £1.6bn, making the National Lottery the second largest sector by GGY. Over the same period, the primary contribution to good causes totalled £775.1m.
  • Non-remote betting GGY was the third largest sector by GGY with £629.3m. Within off-course betting data, machines GGY totalled £304.9m. Machines represented 48.5% of total betting GGY. Total numbers of betting premises have continued to decline for the seventh consecutive reporting period to 6,735 (-12.3%).
  • Lotteries (excluding the National Lottery and small society lotteries), saw a GGY equivalent of £310.5m, with balance to good causes at £196.8m.
  • In the arcades sector, adult gaming centres totalled £97.0m in GGY and licensed family entertainment totalled £7.7m. Note that this data does not include family entertainment centres which operate using a permit from a local authority.
  • Non-remote bingo GGY totalled £92.0m, Machines represented 46.2% of the total bingo GGY.
  • The non-remote casino sector totalled £67.0m in GGY. Machines represented 27.7% of the total casino GGY
  • Machines GGY across all sectors totalled £470.6m. B3 with £396.8m is now the highest machine category for GGY.
  • The number of licensed activities has decreased to 3,468 (-1.7%). These licences are held by 2,522 operators (-2.1%).
  • The overall number of licensed gambling premises in Great Britain has fallen by 1,092 to 9,036 (-10.8%). The majority of these were betting premises which declined by 948 (-12.3%)

You can download the latest statistics below.