UK gambling revenue down 13.6 per cent in June

According to figures from the Gambling Commission, revenue from almost all forms of gambling fell month-on-month.

UK.- The Gambling Commission’s latest monthly figures on gross gambling yield show that revenue in June was down by 13.6 per cent month-on-month. Based on figures from operators making up 80 per cent of the market, online gambling revenue fell by 13.2 per cent month-on-month to £370.2m.

It’s not the lowest month of the year – that was in March when bookmakers ran many special offers around the Cheltenham festival. However, the total was 20 per cent lower than January’s, which was the month with the highest total this year so far.

The Gambling Commission is now also monitoring the monthly gross gambling yield of retail bookmakers after initially starting with online operators during the pandemic. It reported that GGY from bookmakers representing 85 per cent of the market came in at £181.7m in June, a drop of 5.6 per cent month-on-month.

When it comes to individual verticals, the only one to see growth online was esports betting, which rose by 38.3 per cent to £924,300. Online slots revenue fell by 7.4 per cent to £179.1m and real-event betting by 22.6% to £130.6m following the end of most major European football for the summer.

Online gaming revenue not including slots and poker fell 10.4 per cent to £49.1m, while poker fell to £5.7m. Revenue from virtual sports betting was £3.8m.

As for land-based betting shops, gross gambling yield from over-the-counter bets actually rose, climbing 7 per cent to £62.4m, but that was counteracted by a 26.5 per cent drop in revenue from self-service betting terminals (£24.6m). Machines in betting shops generated £94.6m, a drop of 5.9 per cent.

For the second quarter as a whole, online gross gambling yield was up 1 per cent sequentially at £1.20bn with online slot revenue rising by 4 per cent to £564.7m. Revenue from other online verticals fell. The number of bets placed and the number of accounts active rose, but this was likely to be due to the Grand National in April.

The Gambling Commission noted a rise in the number of online slot sessions lasting more than an hour –up by 5 per cent to 8.4 million. The average length of sessions fell, however.

The regulator said: “We continue to expect extra vigilance from operators as consumers are impacted in different ways by the circumstances brought on by the pandemic and the wider economic environment.

“Many people will still feel vulnerable as a result of the length of the pandemic period, further uncertainty about their personal or financial circumstances or readjusting budgets and time as life returns to normal with a wider set of finance drivers.”