The UK gambling industry pocketed £16.8bn after paying out any prizes from April 2024 to March 2025 according to latest official figures published by the UK Gambling Commission (UKGC), marking a 7.3% increase on the previous year. Pertinently, this marks the first time that annual domestic gross gaming yield (GGY) has crossed £16bn. Figures also revealed that slots made up 84% of online casino revenue.
Domestic GGY bolstered by online spending
Even excluding lotteries and other ticket sales, domestic GGY remained stalwart at £12.6bn for the year. For context, that figure sits 9.3% higher than in 2023-24.
Remote gambling played a significant role, accumulating £7.1bn across online betting, casino and bingo verticals. Again, this demonstrated notable improvement compared to the prior dataset, escalating by 13.1%.
Online casinos reported £5bn GGY, of which £4.2bn (84%) was attributed to slots. Sports betting accrued £2.6bn – primarily stemming from football (£1.2bn) and horse racing (£766.7m). Meanwhile, remote bingo took £165.6m.
Land-based operators also saw a GGY uptick, with arcades, casino, bingo and betting spiking by 3.6% to £4.8bn by March 2025. Similar was true for retail gaming machines, which generated £2.6bn; exceeding the previous year’s figures by 2.9%.
Meanwhile, lotteries contributed over £2bn for “good causes“, with the National Lottery accounting for £1.6bn (up 4.5%) of that figure. Large society lotteries supported the remaining portion, which stood at £484.6m (up 4.8%).
Land-based venues decline despite increased consumer investment
Revenue progress was not mirrored when evaluating the total number of licensed venues.
From April 2024 to March 2025, the total number of legal gambling premises in Great Britain decreased from 8,328 to 8,234.
Since March 2020, that metric has seen an 18.7% curtailment. Moreover, there were 5,825 land-based betting shops in the UK as of March 2025; declining 1.8% from 5,931 one year prior and, strikingly, down 36% over the last decade.
Concerns about retail consumer preferences were proven legitimate by the UKGC’s study, too. Although the land-based sector enjoyed minor growth in terms of GGY, heavy reliance on slot machines – which accounted for 48.2% of retail takings – outlined diminishing returns across non-gaming terminal entertainment.
UK tax changes could spell danger for operator GGY
In its quarterly statement covering April to June 2025, the UKGC revealed that £3.3bn GGY had been reported by operators. Further reports will paint a clearer picture of the modern industry as the year progresses, in line with the body’s new transparent reporting strategy.
The Government’s recent autumn budget could prove critical for figures unveiled through the remaining months, as Chancellor Rachel Reeves announced major tax hikes for UK gambling operators.
From April 2026, remote gaming duty will increase from 21% to 40% and, in 2027, general betting duty will rise from 15% to 25%.
These changes could influence pronounced investment shifts by operators, forcing licence holders to modify existing GGY projections.
