According to the latest Gambling Commission’s Gambling Industry Statistics, the total gross gambling yield (GGY) has shown significant growth, reaching £15.1 billion ($19.0 billion/€17.5 billion) for the period from April 2022 to March 2023, marking a 6.8% increase compared to the previous year.
This surge in revenue is also notable when compared to the pre-lockdown period of March 2020, with a 6.6% increase.
When excluding lotteries from the figures, the GGY increased even further, reaching £10.9 billion, a substantial 9.3% increase compared to 2021-22 and a 7.6% increase compared to 2019-20.
Remote gambling continued to be the primary revenue generator, accounting for £6.5 billion, with remote casino, betting, and bingo sectors contributing to this growth.
Although this sector experienced a moderate year-on-year increase of 2.8%, it saw a substantial 13.3% increase compared to pre-lockdown figures.
New account registrations with remote casino, betting, and bingo operators also rose by 10.6%, totaling 36.4 million.
Online casino games remained dominant in the sector, generating £4.0 billion in GGY, with slots games contributing £3.2 billion to this figure.
Remote betting also had a significant share, amounting to £2.3 billion, led by football (£1.1 billion) and horse betting (£733.5 million), while remote bingo accounted for £173.6 million.
Land-based gambling made a comeback, increasing its share of total GGY to 41% from 35% in the previous year. GGY from arcades, betting, bingo, and casinos reached £4.5 billion, marking a substantial 20.6% year-on-year increase.
This growth indicates a return to pre-pandemic levels, with a 0.2% increase compared to 2019-20.
Gaming machine GGY also surged by 23% to £2.4 billion, remaining a significant contributor to land-based GGY.
Interestingly, this figure increased by 17.9% compared to the last pre-lockdown period, despite overall land-based GGY remaining flat compared to 2019-20.
The increase in land-based revenue occurred despite continued closures, resulting in 186 fewer premises by the end of March 2023.
Additionally, the total number of betting premises continued to decline, with a 2.2% year-on-year decrease and an 18.1% decrease compared to the pre-lockdown period.
The Gambling Industry Statistics study coincides with the launch of the GB Gambling Commission’s second round of consultations on proposals from the Gambling Act review white paper.
These consultations will run for 12 weeks, with a deadline set for February 2024.
Key topics of discussion will include socially responsible incentives such as bonuses and free bets, as well as customer-specific tools aimed at providing customers with greater control over their gambling habits.
The Commission’s commitment to ensuring safe gambling is underscored by recent data revealing that one in 40 Britons is a problem gambler, as part of a revamped data gathering process.