British Online Gambling Handle Reduced by 2% in the Third Quarter

The UK Gambling Commission recently published the financial data for British gambling activities in Q3 of the 2022/23 financial year. The data showed a slight 2% drop in online gross gambling yield (GGY), representing £1.2 billion.

In its analysis of mobile gambling entities comprising 80-85% of the overall market, the Commission determined that betting and online mobile casino revenue had dipped by 8% and 3%, respectively.

The total GGY from online betting was £446m, with a 21% year-on-year increase in the number of bets. The UK Gambling Commission also noted a 20% rise in the average monthly accounts.

Meanwhile, real event betting had 17.3 million customers, a 17% increase from Q3 of the prior year with 14.5 million customers. However, virtual sports wagering dropped by 41%, from 726,538 to 425,708.

Local betting operators (LBO) saw a 5% GGY increase to £560m, with 3.4bn bets placed and spins played at high-street bookmakers, a rise of 2%.

Of all the retail bets, 146 million were wagered over the counter (OTC), and 35.1 million were from self-service betting terminals (SSBTs). Additionally, FOBT machine spins rose from 3.1 billion to 3.2 billion.

The Commission noted that the rise of recreational gambling likely stemmed from the World Cup, with fewer football betting options available due to suspended European leagues, leading to decreased overall spending.

The data further adds that the gross gaming yield from slots grew by 2% to £582 million, with an 8% increase in the total number of spins to 19.7 billion. Also, the average monthly active accounts rose by 13% to 3.7 million. Unfortunately, the number of spins per active player decreased by 5%.

Interestingly, the number of online slots sessions at the best mobile casino apps that lasted more than an hour rose by 11%, surpassing 9 million. The UKGC says this is the first time such figures have been reported. 

The number of player interactions in Q3 of 2022 decreased by 10%, amounting to 2.9 million compared to Q3 of 2021.