British gambling yield: online slips but land-based gaming rises in Q3
The Gambling Commission has reported that online gross gambling yield fell by 2 per cent year-on-year.
UK.- The British Gambling Commission has published its market figures for the third quarter of the 2022-23 financial year. It reports that online gross gambling yield (GGY) in Britain fell by 2 per cent year-on-year to £1.20bn.
Both real event betting and online casino revenue were down year-on-year. Online real event betting GGY was down 3 per cent at £446m, despite a 21 per cent increase in the number of bets and a 20 per cent rise in the number of active accounts. The apparent contradiction seems to be due to the FIFA World Cup.
Rather than boost GGY, the Qatar World Cup caused it to fall due to the suspension of European leagues for the duration of the tournament. More people placed more bets, but the overall amount wagered fell. Virtual betting GGY was down 30.2 per cent at £12m while esports betting GGY was down 29.4 per cent at £2.4m.
Online casino figures
Online casino GGY fell by 8 per cent, with slots GGY down by 2 per cent to £582m. That’s despite an increase in the number of spins and the number of active accounts. The number of spins per active player was down 5 per cent. Casino games GGY fell 7.8 per cent year-on-year to £159.7m and poker 11.6 per cent to £17.6m.
Land-based gambling yield
GGY from land-based gambling rose 5 per cent year-on-year to £560m, with the number of bets and spins up by 2 per cent at 3.4bn. Over-the-counter retail betting was at its lowest since the reopening following the pandemic at £158m, again likely due to the absence of the Premier League as well as horse racing fixture abandonments.
However, self-service betting terminal GYY was up 20 per cent at £100m. The number of bets placed via terminals rose 25 per cent to 35.1 million. Gaming machine GGY was up 6 per cent year-on-year at £302m with average spend per session of £12.48 and average spins per machine up at 133.
Gambling Commission CEO: gambling reform still a priority despite white paper delay
Andrew Rhodes, CEO of the Gambling Commission, has insisted gambling reform is still a government priority despite the delays in delivering the results of the review of legislation that began in 2020. Speaking to Racing TV via a video link, the regulator said it continued to cooperate with the government but couldn’t pre-empt the content of the gambling white paper.
It’s still unclear who will take over the gambling brief at the Department of Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS). Last week, Racing Post reported that Stuart Andrew MP was expected to be confirmed as the sixth minister in the position since the start of the Gambling Act review. However, the DCMS has said that no decision has yet been made.
Paul Scully left the post earlier this month and moved to the new Department for Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT) in a restructuring that saw Lucy Frazer put in charge of a slimmed-down DCMS. Conservative MP for Pudsey, Horsforth and Aireborough in West Yorkshire since 2010, Andrew’s first junior ministerial position was as parliamentary under-secretary of state for Wales under the then prime Minister Theresa May.
