British online gambling down 4.8% in May

According to data from the Gambling Commission, UK operators saw a decrease in revenue month-on-month.

UK.- The Gambling Commission of Great Britain has released online gambling data for May, revealing that gross gambling yield (GGY) fell 4.8 per cent from April to £533.4m.

The data includes figures from the largest online operators licensed to operate in Great Britain, which account for around 80 per cent of the market. 

The Gambling Commission reported that revenue from slots was up 4.5 per cent month-on-month and 14.6 per cent year-on-year at £211.2m. However, revenue from real event betting fell 10.7 per cent month-on-month to £238.8m.

That was still up considerably year-on-year from £101.4m in May 2020 due to the cancellation of sporting events last year because of the Covid-19 pandemic. 

Other casino gaming apart from slots generated £65.3m, down 8 per cent month-on-month and down 16.2 per cent year-on-year. Revenue from virtual betting fell 5.1 per cent month-on-month and 35.8 year-on-year to £7.2m. Poker revenue fell 12.9 per cent compared to April and 60.1 per cent compared to May 2020, coming in at £7.3m.

Esports betting was down considerably year-on-year, from £4.6m in May 2020 to £2m, but was up 5.3 per cent month-on-month.

The Gambling Commission reported 3.1 million active slots players in Great Britain for May, an increase of 25.9 per cent year-on-year. There were also rises in the number of casino players (2.2 million, up 11.2 per cent) and real event bettors (5.1 million, up 131.1 per cent).

The number of active bettors on virtual events dropped by 18 per cent to 236,061 and the number of active poker accounts fell by 49.4 per cent to 282,175.

However, all verticals saw fewer active players when compared month-on-month with April 2021. The biggest drop was in real event betting down from 6.7 million to 5.1 million. 

Impact of Covid-19 on gambling behaviour 

The Gambling Commission has reported the results of a survey that found that most players did not not change their gambling behaviour during the Covid-19 pandemic.

Half of the respondents increased the time they spent gambling because online gambling was available “anytime, anywhere” and because they had more free time.

Many respondents said they had experimented with new games and felt disappointed at their gambling habits. A minority reported a positive impact on their gambling behaviours. Only a minority of respondents lowered their gambling frequency.

The Gambling Commission said it was important to consider the impact of the return to normality on gambling behaviour.