UK Online Gambling Revenue Surges Amid Declining User Activity in Q2 2025
The UK Gambling Commission’s recent data reveals that online gambling revenue experienced continued growth in the second quarter of 2025-2026, despite a noticeable decline in the number of active monthly accounts. The period under review follows the implementation of new maximum stake limits for online slot machines, marking a significant regulatory change within the industry.
In terms of overall financial performance, online Gross Gambling Yield (GGY) reached £1.42 billion between July and September 2025, representing an 8 percent increase compared to the previous year. During this same period, the total number of bets and spins saw a modest rise of 3 percent, amounting to 26.1 billion. Conversely, the data indicates a 7 percent decrease in average monthly active accounts, which fell to 12 million. It is noteworthy that these figures encompass activity across both online platforms and land-based betting establishments.
Focusing on specific verticals, real event betting generated £508 million in GGY, reflecting a 12 percent year-on-year increase. Nevertheless, the overall volume of bets placed in this category declined by 3 percent, and the average number of active accounts for real event betting dropped by 14 percent. These trends suggest that individual player expenditure may be increasing, even as overall participation diminishes.
Slots continue to dominate the online gambling landscape, with revenue and activity reaching new heights. GGY from online slots grew by 9 percent year-on-year to £747 million, while the number of spins increased by 4 percent to 24.4 billion. The average monthly active accounts for slots remained relatively stable at 4.4 million, experiencing only a marginal decline of 0.4 percent. The Gambling Commission highlighted that both GGY and the volume of spins set new records for the dataset for the second consecutive quarter.
Read also: Exploring Yolo Group’s Transition to a Long-Term Value Strategy
There has been a notable reduction in the duration of slot sessions lasting more than an hour. Operators reported 8.6 million such sessions, which is a 15 percent decrease from the previous year. Additionally, the average session length has shortened by one minute to 16 minutes. The proportion of sessions exceeding one hour also declined from 6 percent to 4.6 percent. The Commission clarified that “a couple of operators have refined their session length methodology during the previous year which will impact year-on-year comparisons on the number of sessions, sessions over one hour and average session length metrics.”
Meanwhile, land-based betting premises continue to experience a decline in performance. GGY for these establishments fell by 5 percent to £508 million, and the total number of bets and spins decreased by 2 percent to 3.1 billion. These figures underscore a broader industry trend towards online gambling and reflect shifting consumer behavior on the high street. UK Gambling Revenue
