The Gambling Commission (GC) has released new data on gambling behaviours in the UK.
The results, gathered from data collected between March 2020 to September 2025, cover both online and land-based gaming. The latest release reflects changes between Q2 2024/25 and Q2 2025/26, with the GC noting that this quarter is the second in which maximum online stake limits have been implemented.
Online gross gambling yield (GGY) came to £1.42bn ($1.86bn) for the quarter, up 8% year-on-year. The number of bets and spins placed increased by 3% to 26.1 billion, though the number of monthly active users experienced decline, dropping 7% to 12 million users.
Real event betting GGY rose 12% to £508m, despite the number of bets placed falling 3% and the number of active monthly accounts dropping 14%. Slots on the other hand saw growth almost across the board, with GGY up 9% to £747m and the number of spins up 4% to 24.4 billion. Despite this, active users dropped 0.4% to 4.4 million.
Focusing on online slots specifically, the number of slot sessions lasting over an hour dropped 15% to 8.6 million. Indeed, the average session length decreased by one minute 16 seconds year-on-year, with only 4.6% of sessions lasting over an hour; a 6% annual decrease.
Finally, land-based betting premises saw GGY drop 5% to £508m, accompanied by a 2% drop in total bets and spins, which came to 3.1 billion.
This drop in land-based interest comes at a pivotal time for the UK's land-based gaming industries. Potential gambling reforms in the Autumn Budget include a rumoured tax of up to 50% on retail sportsbooks, with many expecting devastating results if passed.
Already, Flutter has closed several Paddy Power shops, while Betfred has suggested it may have to close all retail betting shops if the tax is approved. Such a tax increase, it has been argued, is one the industry can afford, and will plug a hole in the Government's finances. The topic has been discussed between both Government and gaming bodies, though whether it will be passed is yet to be seen.
The slot cap is £2 for 18-24's and £5 for those 25+
