The UK gambling landscape is facing scrutiny following a notable spike in revenue generated from gaming machines within licensed bingo premises. Critics have raised concerns that bingo may function as a ‘trojan horse’ for gaming machine operations. According to new figures from the Gambling Commission, gaming machines yielded £461.7 million in gross gambling yield (GGY) for bingo operators in the fiscal year ending March 2026, significantly overshadowing the £242.1 million from bingo games. This means that nearly two-thirds of the sector's total GGY, which stands at £703.8 million, now comes from machines.
The trend reveals a stark increase in the use of machines, with GGY from those machines rising from approximately £293 million in 2019-20 to £462 million in 2025-26—an alarming 57% rise. Particularly noteworthy is the increase in revenue from Category B machines—higher-stakes products found in bingo venues—which jumped from approximately £197 million to £361 million during the same timeframe. By the latest financial year, Category B machines accounted for about 78% of bingo machine GGY, up from roughly 67% in the earlier period.
While these figures might lead one to conclude that machines have become more integral to traditional bingo clubs, the data also highlights a significant shift within the bingo sector. An increasing number of licensed bingo premises are functioning more like adult gaming centers (AGCs), with many locations offering predominantly gaming machines, making it hard for customers to differentiate them from AGCs. In its October 2025 consultation regarding bingo licensing, the government noted that a growing number of these venues featured gaming machines as their dominant attraction.
Data from the Gambling Commission reveals that for operators categorized as high-street bingo premises, less than 1% of GGY was derived from bingo games, with the remaining 99% coming from gaming machines. Comparatively, traditional bingo clubs see bingo contributing to 51% of GGY, while bingo operators focused in holiday parks report a figure of 55%.
Examining the licensee information for Merkur Slots, it becomes evident that of 340 venues, 227 are classified as bingo venues, while just 106 fall under AGCs. Notably, many of these labeled “bingo” venues visually and operationally resemble AGCs, with minimal emphasis on bingo.
The regulatory landscape faces additional challenges due to a burgeoning hybrid category of premises that blend bingo offerings with gaming machines, attracting diverse audiences without fully adhering to the traditional bingo model.
Regulatory confusion stems from the Gambling Commission’s social responsibility code, which requires that bingo venues provide “substantive facilities” for non-remote bingo. However, the term
