The UK Gambling Commission has revealed that slot gross gambling yield and participation have increased over the past year in a second quarter 2023 report on British gambling.
Analysing the period between March 2020 and September 2023, the data from online operators and licensed betting operators found on Britain’s high streets compares online and in-person betting from Q2 2023 (July to September) with the same period the previous year.
The operator data showed that Q2 total GGY came in at £1.2bn, up 0.6 per cent year-over-year, driven by the previously mentioned increase in slots, whereas the GGY for nearly all other verticals decreased.
The total number of bets/spins in the period increased by 10 per cent YoY, while the average monthly active accounts rose by seven per cent YoY.
For slots, GGY for the period rose by eight per cent YoY to £589m, with the number of spins increasing by 11 per cent to nearly 21 billion, while the average monthly active accounts grew by 11 per cent to 3.8 million. The GGY per active player for online slots decreased by three per cent YoY.
The number of online slots sessions lasting longer than an hour increased by four per cent YoY to 9.3 million, with the number of total sessions increasing by eight per cent YoY.
However, the average session length decreased to 17 minutes in comparison to the same period the previous year (2022: 19 minutes), but this figure is consistent with Q1 2023. Approximately seven per cent of all sessions lasted more than one hour.
The data from the UKGC is released as the commission goes through a series of consultations to seek feedback from gambling industry stakeholders on the UK government’s white paper proposals, which include maximum stake limits for online slots.
The UKGC stated that the total number of customer interactions in Q2 increased by one per cent YoY to three million, with the majority remaining automated in nature. Direct interactions undertaken by operators increased by 17 per cent.
Elsewhere, online real event betting GGY decreased by five per cent YoY to £428m, total bets fell by one per cent, while actives dropped by 0.2 per cent. The UKGC accredited the decrease to a “series of unfavourable sports results for the bookies in September”.
Examining offline betting, GGY from licensed betting operators decreased by 0.4 per cent YoY to nearly £539m, while the number of total bets and spins dropped by one per cent to 3.1 billion.
Over-the-counter bets decreased by one per cent YoY in Q2 to 142 million, with GGY for the vertical dropping by 0.1 per cent to £166m. Bets on self-service betting terminals rose by 20 per cent YoY to 31.5 million, but its GGY declined by one per cent to £93m.
Machine GGY fell by 0.4 per cent YoY to £280m with an average number of spins per session of 128 and an average spend per session remaining consistent at £12.09.
The proportion of total machine sessions lasting more than an hour fell to two per cent for the first time in nine quarters after previously remaining consistent at three per cent.
