The figures were released for Online Gambling which saw it rise in the second quarter, the gross gambling yield (GGY) hit £1.4 billion ($2.02bn), which is up 2% year-on-year and also 3% higher than the previous quarter the Gambling Commission have said. Spins and Bets climbed 26.1 billion but the number of active monthly accounts dropped 10% to 12.7 million.
The growth was driven by slots which generated a record £745 million in GGY, which is up 14% from the previous year. Spins also hit an all-time high of 24.4 billion, with active monthly slot accounts steady at 4.4 million. Despite the new rules of max spins of £5 for over 25’s and £2 for under 25’s which was implemented in April.
The other gambling products struggled with the real event betting opportunities down 9% to £570m with the accounts being restricted or closed by operators, while casino games, virtual betting and esports all recorded a year-on-year decline.
In-shop retail also weakened with GGY down 5% to £552m. Out of that the machines Fixed Odds Betting Terminals (FOBS) made up £281m (-3%), while over the counter bets were down 12% to £148m and then the Self Surface Sport Betting Terminals were down 2% to £122m. That totaled to the retail spins and bets declined 3% to 3.2 billion.
The Gambling Commission said the lengths of sessions were shorter overall with fewer customers playing for over an hour. It did advise that they will likely improve this year with operators getting the go ahead from the government to roll out new machines which was passed in July.