The UK Gambling Commission (UKGC) has launched its newest dataset protecting operator exercise between March 2020 and June 2025, with a selected give attention to the first quarter of the 2025–26 monetary yr. The figures reveal contrasting developments throughout playing verticals, with sturdy positive factors in on-line slots offsetting declines in sports activities betting and poker.
Online Sector Sees Mixed Results
From April to June 2025, on-line gross playing yield (GGY) rose 2% year-on-year to £1.49 billion. This development got here alongside a 6% rise in complete bets and spins, which reached a file 26.1 billion. However, the common variety of month-to-month energetic accounts dropped by 10% in comparison with the identical quarter final yr, all the way down to 12.7 million.
Online slots had been the standout performer, attaining a 14% year-on-year GGY increase to £745 million and hitting a brand new peak of 24.4 billion spins in the course of the quarter. Monthly energetic accounts on this vertical held regular at 4.4 million. Average spins per session fell from 139 to 129, whereas GGY per session edged down from £4.01 to £3.95. The variety of periods lasting over an hour declined 9% to eight.8 million, with solely 5% of all periods exceeding the one-hour mark in comparison with 6% within the earlier yr. Average session size shortened by one minute to 16 minutes.
Real occasion betting didn’t observe the identical trajectory. GGY for this class fell 9% to £570 million, with complete bets down 7% and energetic month-to-month accounts dropping 16%. The absence of a serious worldwide soccer occasion—akin to Euro 2024, which came about in the identical interval final yr—possible contributed to this decline.
Poker additionally skilled a downturn, with GGY falling 19.9% to £11.3 million and complete bets slipping from 170.9 million to 143.9 million.
Impact of New Stake Limits
The quarter was notable for the introduction of recent stake limits for on-line slots, a transfer geared toward strengthening participant safety measures. From 9 April 2025, the utmost stake was capped at £5 for all adults, adopted by a decrease £2 restrict for gamers aged 18 to 24 launched on 21 May 2025. Despite these restrictions, slots efficiency improved, suggesting gamers could have compensated by growing the variety of spins positioned.
Land-Based Betting Performance
Retail betting premises generated £552 million in GGY for the quarter, a 5% lower in comparison with Q1 final yr. The complete variety of bets and spins fell 3% to three.2 billion.
Over-the-counter bets grew by 1% to 145 million, although the related GGY dropped 12% to £148 million. Self-service betting terminals (SSBTs) recorded a 9% lower in bets to 33.4 million, whereas GGY slipped 1% to £122 million.
Gaming machines in betting outlets introduced in £281 million in GGY, a 3% decline from the earlier yr. The common spend per session fell barely to £12.19, with spins per session lowering by one to 129. Sessions lasting over an hour accounted for two.6% of the whole, up barely from 2.4% in the identical interval final yr.
Changes in Data Collection and Survey Insights
The Gambling Commission famous that some operators up to date their strategies for calculating session size in the course of the quarter, which influenced the reported variety of periods and their durations.
Alongside the monetary knowledge, the UKGC additionally addressed current evaluation of the Gambling Survey for Great Britain (GSGB). Research led by Professor Patrick Sturgis of the London School of Economics prompt that modifications in methodology—from phone interviews to on-line self-reporting—could have influenced the recorded price of drawback playing. The Commission confirmed it would assessment its steerage to replicate these methodological variations.
Source:
Market impact data on gambling behaviour – operator data to June 2025, Gambling Commission, gamblingcommission.gov.uk, August 14, 2025.
