UKGC gambling behaviour report

Despite longer spins, plus the removal of auto-spins and quick spins, UK online slots GGY and the number of spins continue to increase according to a UKGC Gambling Vs Environmental Factors report! (Image by Wallusy on Pixabay)

With such a stringent licensing framework in place, the UK has a barrage of reports to release covering gambling behaviour in the country. The latest of those shows how gambling behaviour reacts to environmental factors, and it’s quite a good read!

The report collates information collected from UK gambling operators currently doing business within the online and land-based sectors throughout Great Britain.

Therefore, the research used to create the report would include Licensed Betting Operators (LBOs) operating high-street stores and land-based casinos. Plus, online brands like LeoVegas, NetBet, and 888 Holdings online operations 888Casino, 888Poker, and 888Sports. Adding to this, other UK brands we have not covered via our United Kingdom casino guide found on the live casino gambling sites UK page are also part of the collated data to form the report.

As for the time frame, the info covers Q4 2022 to 2023 financial year (Jan-Mar) and compares it with the Q4 2021 to 2022 financial year (Jan-Mar) to produce the final data output, which is neatly laid out in a table below. And if you are fan of online slots on top of live casino game play, then there’s a special section covering slot gaming, while the rest of the report is an overview of sports betting.

Let’s get on with it! Now we have covered the who, what, where, why and when setting the scene for the UKGC Gambling Vs Environmental Factors report, read on for the stats…

Metric Q4 2022-2023 Q4 2021-2022 YoY Change
Online total GGY £1.3 billion £1.238 billion 5%
Real event betting GGY £555 million £491.15 million 13%
Slots GGY £552 million £541.176 million 2%
LBO GGY £585 million £551.887 million 6%

Slot Machine GGY – The one most relevant to Casino Plus Bonus readers!

  • Slot machine GGY: There was a 2% increase in slot gaming, which moved up from £541.176 million to £552 million in Q4 2022-2023, compared to the same period in the previous year.
  • Online Slot Spins: The number of spins grew by 9%.
  • Active Online Slot Accounts: The average number of active accounts playing online slots surged by 15% to 3.9 million per month.
  • Online Slot Session Times: There was a 10% YoY growth to 8.8 million. Despite this, the average session length remained consistent at 17 minutes.
  • Land-Based Slot Spins: The number of spins in land-based gambling venues hosting video slots reported 3.3 billion spins, which is a growth of 2%.

The key take away here is that depsite the UK rules requiring all software providers to take off the auto-play and quick spin features as well as increase the amount of time each spin takes, the percentages have risen over the two quarterly periods.

Breaking Down Other GGYs According to Each Vertical

As per the table above, there are some interesting insights revealed into how the overall UK gambling has been affected via certain environmental factors including big events such as the prestigious Cheltenham festival.

  • Online Gambling (GGY): In the final quarter of the last financial year, the total GGY for online gambling has risen by £62,000. Over the course of the year, that’s not a huge amount at around £20,333.33 per month over the 3-month period, but an increase nonetheless.
  • LBO GGY (GGY): There was a 6% growth, nearing £585 million in Q4 2022-2023 versus the previous year’s quarter.
  • Real Event Betting (GGY): Real event betting GGY rose by 13% YoY to a solid £555 million. Concurrently, the total bets and active users also escalated, with 19% and 9% increases, respectively.

You find out more about live casino with sports betting and online slots via the live dealer casino reviews page!

Positive and Negative Takeaways

The data reveals a generally positive trend in the gambling industry’s growth, with increases in GGY across all sectors. The YoY growth in online gambling, event betting, and slot machines suggest an expanding market driven by an increase in active monthly accounts. The gambling industry’s resilience, demonstrated through these numbers, suggests a promising potential for further growth.

The rise in longer online slot sessions may raise concerns about responsible gambling and the potential for gambling-related harm. Despite an increase in long sessions, the static average session length indicates a broad mix of user habits, which merits further investigation.

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