UK Gambling Statistics 2025/26: Online Growth Reshapes the Market

Great Britain’s customer-facing gambling industry generated £17.5 billion in gross gambling yield during the financial year from April 2025 to March 2026, according to official statistics published by the Gambling Commission on 17 September 2026. That was 4.4% higher than in the previous financial year, with online casino, betting and bingo growing more quickly than the land-based market.

Gross gambling yield, usually shortened to GGY, is the amount licensed operators retain after paying winnings but before deducting operating costs, tax and other expenses. It is not the total value of bets placed, company profit or a measure of what every individual customer lost. The Commission’s total also includes reported lotteries; excluding lotteries, GGY was £13.2 billion, up 4.7%.

The figures cover gambling with licensed operators by customers in Great Britain. They are based on regulatory returns submitted by operators and include historical data back to the financial year ending March 2009. Changes made in July 2024 aligned reporting periods across operators, so comparisons should still be read with the Commission’s methodology notes in mind.

Remote casino, betting and bingo produced £8.3 billion in GGY, an increase of 6.9%. Online casino games accounted for £5.7 billion of that amount, including £4.8 billion from slots. Remote betting generated £2.4 billion, led by football at £1.2 billion and horse racing at £769.3 million. Remote bingo contributed £147.8 million.

Those figures show where the strongest revenue concentration sits. Slots alone represented most online-casino GGY, while the entire remote sector expanded faster than the market as a whole. This does not establish why revenue changed. Product mix, customer behaviour, sporting schedules, pricing and wider economic conditions can all affect annual totals, and the Commission cautions that several sources are needed to explain market shifts.

Land-based arcades, betting, bingo and casinos generated £4.9 billion, 1.1% more than the previous year. The overall increase coexisted with a smaller physical estate. Licensed gambling premises fell by 2.0% to 8,081, while betting shops declined by 3.6% to 5,617. The Commission says this was the twelfth consecutive reporting period in which betting-premises numbers fell.

Performance also differed within the land-based market. Non-remote betting GGY fell 3.3% to £2.4 billion. Land-based casino GGY edged up 0.4% to £933.9 million, bingo rose 8.2% to £703.8 million and arcades increased 10.7% to £800.1 million. A declining shop count therefore should not be read as evidence that every physical gambling category contracted.

New registrations with remote casino, betting and bingo operators fell 3.0% to 32.4 million. There were 25.7 million active accounts at the end of the final reporting quarter, while customer funds held by operators stood at £886.6 million, 13.9% lower than one year earlier.

Account figures are not the same as people. One customer may hold accounts with several operators, and the registration total records accounts created rather than unique adults. The fall in registrations alongside higher remote GGY is therefore useful context, but it does not by itself show that individual customers gambled more or explain which groups drove the change.

The Commission released a separate wave of the Gambling Survey for Great Britain on the same day. In a nationally representative sample of 5,277 adults surveyed between 19 January and 26 May 2026, 49% reported taking part in a gambling activity during the previous four weeks. The rate fell to 28% when people who had only entered lottery draws were excluded.

Online participation was 39%, or 16% after removing lottery-draw-only players. These survey estimates should not be merged with operator revenue as though they describe the same measure. Industry returns quantify regulated market activity, while the survey estimates how many adults participated and includes margins of error. The Commission also says current survey results are not directly comparable with older gambling surveys because the methodology changed.

The faster growth of remote GGY puts greater weight on protections that operate inside digital accounts. Players should be able to see transaction histories, set effective deposit or spending controls, take time out and use self-exclusion where needed. Identity and affordability-related checks may interrupt play, but licensed operators must apply the controls required by their market and account risk.

Players should also verify that an operator appears on the Gambling Commission’s public register and that the exact website matches the licensed business. A UK-facing design, pound-denominated balance or familiar payment method is not proof of a British licence. Gambling with an unlicensed site can remove access to protections and complaint routes that apply in the regulated market.

The Commission plans to publish core industry statistics quarterly, with the next release due in December 2026 for April to June 2026. The next annual report is expected in autumn 2027. The useful comparison will be whether remote growth continues, how slots contribute to that total and whether the number of betting premises keeps falling.

For individuals, national growth figures are not a reason to increase gambling or chase losses. Set a firm affordable limit before playing, treat gambling as paid entertainment rather than income and stop if spending causes financial pressure or distress. Adults in Great Britain can use GAMSTOP for online self-exclusion and contact GamCare for confidential support.

Sources: Gambling Commission, “Industry Statistics — Annual report — Financial year April 2025 to March 2026” (17 September 2026, official market data and methodology); Gambling Commission, “Statistics on gambling participation — Wave 1, January to May 2026” (17 September 2026, official participation estimates and survey limitations); and Gambling.com, “On-Course Racing Bets Hit 15-Year High Despite Online Slide” (17 September 2026, secondary reporting on market and racing trends). Figures may be revised through later regulatory returns; consult the current Gambling Commission releases.