UK Gambling Commission Reports Record £17.5bn GGY for 2025/26 with Online Casino Leading

The UK Gambling Commission has published its annual report for the April 2025-March 2026 financial year alongside the third wave of the Gambling Survey for Great Britain. Gross gambling yield reached £17.5bn, a 4.4% rise on the prior period. Online casino delivered the clearest growth while certain land-based categories and betting contracted. The survey showed steady overall participation but with distinct gender and age patterns.

Yield Growth Concentrated in Online Casino

Online casino GGY increased 14.8% to £5.7bn, with slots generating £4.79bn after 15.5% growth and forming 84% of that vertical. The segment contributed £735.8m of the industry’s total net increase of £728.1m. Remote casino, betting and bingo together produced £8.3bn, up 6.9% and equal to 63% of non-lottery GGY. Land-based GGY rose 1.1% to £4.86bn.

Non-lottery GGY stood at £13.2bn, up 4.7%. The National Lottery added £3.47bn, roughly 20% of the overall total. This marks the fifth consecutive year of GGY expansion since the £12.67bn recorded in 2020/21. Retail betting shops fell 3.6% to 5,617 while online betting GGY declined 6.6% to £2.45bn.

Ben Haden, Director of Research and Policy at the Gambling Commission, stated that “the market shifts that we see in industry data trends, and this year is no different, are complex and will be down to a mix of factors that need more than one source to unpick.” The Commission released a new Microsoft BI dashboard to support analysis of these figures. As reported by SBC News, licensed operators totalled 2,154, down 1.1%.

Survey Stability and Data Limitations

GSGB data recorded 49% of adults gambling in the previous four weeks, stable versus recent waves. The rate dropped to 28% when lottery-only players were removed. Men reported 53% participation against 44% for women. Betting showed a 16% male versus 4% female split. When lottery is excluded the peak age band shifts to 35-44 year-olds at 35%.

Online participation held at 39% or 16% without lottery-only activity. In-person rates were 29% or 18% on the same adjusted basis. Adults aged 18-24 were the only group to rank enjoyment above monetary gain as a motivation. The Commission noted these statistics address participation, not problem gambling prevalence, and are not directly comparable to earlier surveys due to methodology changes. The next wave covering April to July 2026 is due on 3 December 2026.

Operators face a market where online casino now exerts heavy influence on headline yield while retail estates continue to shrink. The explicit caution on complex, multi-factor drivers and non-comparable data sets means single-year figures alone will not suffice for strategic or compliance planning. Regulators and licensees alike will need to integrate additional sources to separate sustainable expansion from areas that may attract closer oversight.

Reporting: SBC News

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