The Gambling Commission has released its industry activity report for the financial year spanning April 2025 to March 2026, revealing a 4.4% rise in Gross Gambling Yield (GGY) across all channels, totalling £17.5 billion. This increase is primarily attributed to the growth in remote or online gambling, contrasting with the decline observed in physical gambling establishments, reflecting changes in consumer behavior and market dynamics.
Excluding lottery activities, GGY rose to £13.2 billion, which signifies a 4.7% year-over-year growth. The remote casino, betting, and bingo segments emerged as the strongest performers, amassing £8.3 billion in GGY—this marks a 6.9% increase compared to the previous year and represents about 63% of the yield from non-lottery activities.
Within this period, the online casino segment generated £5.7 billion, predominantly from slots, which contributed £4.8 billion. Remote betting reached £2.4 billion, with football contributing £1.2 billion and horse racing £769.3 million, while remote bingo accounted for £147.8 million. During the first quarter of 2026, from January to March, the online gambling sectors produced £2.2 billion, with remote casinos alone making up £1.5 billion or 68.3% of that total.
For the entirety of the first quarter of 2026, total industry GGY amounted to £4.4 billion including lotteries, or £3.4 billion when excluding them. By March 31, 2026, there were 2,154 licensed gambling operators, reflecting a 1.1% decrease over the previous year. In contrast, the number of separately licensed gambling activities increased slightly, up 0.4% to 3,097.
The land-based gambling segment, which includes adult gaming centers, betting shops, bingo halls, and casinos, generated £4.9 billion in GGY, indicating a modest 1.1% annual growth. However, the number of physical gambling establishments fell by 2% to 8,081.
Betting shops have now seen a continuous decline for twelve consecutive periods, standing at 5,617—a decrease of 3.6% or 208 shops from the previous year. Major retail operators like William Hill and Betfred have closed hundreds of their shops this year. Non-remote betting stood at £2.4 billion, down 3.3%, while non-remote casinos reported GGY of £933.9 million, an increase of 0.4%. Non-remote bingo yielded £703.8 million, showing an 8.2% rise.
Gaming machines in arcades reached £800.1 million in GGY, up 10.7%, largely due to adult gaming centers that generated £761.4 million, a rise of 11.3%. Overall, gaming machines contributed £2.7 billion to GGY, reflecting a 4.3% increase, with 191,804 machines reported in licensed premises during the final quarter.
Recently, Prime Minister Andy Burnham proposed a set of initiatives aimed at repealing the existing “aim to permit” rule that currently favors the establishment of betting shops and 24-hour slot machine arcades nationwide, necessitating planning approval for such venues. Additionally, he is contemplating imposing higher taxes on gaming machines in the UK, based on recommendations from the Social Market Foundation, which could feature in the upcoming autumn budget.
In terms of the National Lottery, ticket sales totaled £7.9 billion, an improvement of 0.9%, while prize payouts saw a minor decline of 0.6%, totaling £4.5 billion. Contributions to good causes rose by 2.8%, estimated at between £1.6 billion and £1.7 billion. Large society lotteries also reported growth, with ticket sales increasing by 5.7% to £1.2 billion, prizes up by 6.1% to £335.6 million, and contributions rising to £498.5 million, a 2.8% increase.
The Commission’s annual Gambling Survey for Great Britain (GSGB), released on Thursday, indicates stable patterns of gambling participation among 5,277 adults surveyed from January to May 2026. Approximately 49% of respondents reported gambling in the past four weeks, a figure consistent with previous years. Excluding those who only participated in lottery draws, participation dropped to 28%.
During this period, online gambling participation reached 39% (16% excluding lottery-only players), while in-person gambling stood at 29% (18% excluding lottery-only players). Popular non-lottery activities included scratch cards (13%), betting (10%), and online instant win games (8%). Demographically, betting activities were predominantly male, with 16% of men and 4% of women engaging in this form of gambling. The highest rates of participation were observed in the 45 to 64-year age group, while the categories excluding lotteries revealed the greatest activity among the 35 to 44-year-olds (35%). Respondents reported motivations of seeking large winnings and entertainment, with 42% expressing positive sentiments related to their most recent gambling expenditures.
