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UK Gambling Market Report 2025-2026: A Comprehensive Analysis of Industry Trends

By jili tutorial · September 20, 2026

UK Gambling Market Report 2025-2026: A Comprehensive Analysis of Industry Trends

The Gambling Commission’s latest industry activity report reveals a gambling market in transition. For the financial year April 2025 to March 2026, total gross gambling yield (GGY) across all channels reached £17.5 billion — a 4.4% increase year-on-year. While online gambling continues to drive growth, land-based venues face ongoing contraction, and regulatory changes loom on the horizon. This guide unpacks the data, explains key terms, and explores the underlying dynamics shaping the sector.

Overview of the Gambling Commission’s Annual Report

The annual industry activity report provides a detailed snapshot of licensed gambling in Great Britain. It covers all regulated sectors — from online casinos and betting shops to arcades, bingo halls, and the National Lottery. The report is essential reading for operators, policymakers, and investors because it highlights where consumer spending is flowing and how the regulatory landscape is evolving.

What Is Gross Gambling Yield (GGY)?

GGY represents the amount retained by operators after paying out winnings to customers, but before deducting taxes, operating costs, or gambling duties. It is the most common metric for measuring the size and health of the gambling market. In this report, GGY is broken down by channel (remote vs. non-remote) and by product type (casino, betting, bingo, machines, lotteries).

When all lottery activity is excluded, GGY increased to £13.2 billion — a 4.7% rise over the previous year. This figure removes the distorting effect of lottery sales, which are dominated by the National Lottery and large society lotteries, to better reflect “pure” gambling activity.

Online Gambling: The Dominant Channel

Remote gambling continues to be the engine of growth for the UK market. The report shows that remote casino, betting, and bingo generated £8.3 billion in GGY, a 6.9% year-on-year increase. This now accounts for approximately 63% of the non-lottery industry yield — a clear sign that digital platforms are reshaping consumer habits.

Remote Casino and Slots

Within the remote vertical, online casino was the largest contributor, producing £5.7 billion over the 12-month period. Of that, £4.8 billion came from online slots alone. The popularity of slots is driven by their wide variety, low minimum stakes, and instant gameplay — particularly appealing to mobile users. Quarterly data from January to March 2026 reinforces this trend: online casino accounted for 68.3% of all remote GGY in that quarter (£1.5 billion out of £2.2 billion).

Remote Betting and Bingo

Remote betting (including sportsbooks and exchange betting) generated £2.4 billion in GGY. Football remained the dominant sport, contributing £1.2 billion, while horse racing added £769.3 million. These two sports together account for over 80% of remote betting turnover. Remote bingo, though smaller, still contributed £147.8 million — a niche but stable segment.

Land-Based Gambling: A Mixed Picture

While online channels are booming, the physical gambling estate continues to contract. Land-based gambling — including adult gaming centres (AGCs), betting shops, bingo halls, and casinos — produced £4.9 billion in GGY, a modest 1.1% increase year-on-year. However, the number of licensed premises fell by 2% to 8,081.

Decline in Physical Premises

Betting shops saw their twelfth consecutive annual decline, falling 3.6% to 5,617 — a net loss of 208 shops. Major retail operators like William Hill and Betfred have scaled back significantly, closing hundreds of shops between them. This reflects a structural shift: punters increasingly place bets online rather than in person. Non-remote betting GGY dropped 3.3% to £2.4 billion.

In contrast, non-remote casinos and bingo halls showed resilience. Casino GGY rose 0.4% to £933.9 million, while bingo GGY jumped 8.2% to £703.8 million. The bingo growth may be linked to new social and entertainment offerings at these venues.

Gaming Machines on the Rise

Gaming machines are a bright spot for the land-based sector. Total machine GGY rose 4.3% to £2.7 billion. Within that, machines in arcades (mainly AGCs) generated £800.1 million — up 10.7% — with AGCs alone at £761.4 million (+11.3%). The number of gaming machines in licensed premises at the end of March 2026 stood at 191,804.

The growth in machine revenues, especially in AGCs, suggests that while footfall is declining in some premises, spend per visit is increasing. This could be due to higher-stakes machines or longer playing sessions.

Regulatory and Tax Developments

Two significant regulatory moves are on the table, both proposed by Prime Minister Andy Burnham and likely to affect the industry in the coming year.

Planning Rule Changes

Burnham has proposed repealing the long-standing “aim to permit” rule for betting shops and 24-hour slot machine arcades across Great Britain. Currently, local planning authorities must assume that such venues should be allowed unless there are strong reasons to refuse. Removing this presumption would give councils far more power to reject new applications. In England, AGCs that offer round-the-clock access to gambling machines would specifically require planning approval — a new barrier for operators.

Potential Machine Tax

Alongside planning changes, the Prime Minister is considering an increased tax on gaming machines, based on a proposal from the Social Market Foundation. Such a levy could hit AGCs and betting shops hardest, since they rely heavily on machine revenues. The measure might be announced in the upcoming autumn budget. If implemented, it would further squeeze land-based operators already dealing with declining footfall and rising costs.

The National Lottery and Other Lotteries

Lotteries remain a large component of the UK gambling ecosystem. The National Lottery recorded ticket sales of £7.9 billion (up 0.9%), while prize payouts fell slightly by 0.6% to £4.5 billion. Contributions to good causes increased by 2.8%, estimated between £1.6 billion and £1.7 billion.

Large society lotteries (such as Health Lottery and People’s Postcode Lottery) also grew: ticket sales up 5.7% to £1.2 billion, prizes up 6.1% to £335.6 million, and good cause contributions up 2.8% to £498.5 million.

These figures show that lotteries continue to attract a broad audience, especially older and more casual gamblers, and remain an important source of charitable funding.

The Gambling Survey for Great Britain (GSGB) — based on 5,277 adults surveyed between January and May 2026 — reveals stable participation patterns. 49% of adults reported gambling in the past four weeks, consistent with previous years. When excluding those who only played lottery draws, participation dropped to 28%, meaning lottery-only players represent about 21% of the adult population.

Demographics and Motivations

Online gambling participation over four weeks reached 39% (16% excluding lottery-only players), while in-person gambling was 29% (18% excluding lottery-only). The top non-lottery activities were scratchcards (13%), betting (10%), and online instant win games (8%).

Betting is heavily skewed toward men: 16% of men gambled on betting vs. 4% of women. Age-wise, overall participation peaked among 45- to 64-year-olds (56–59%), but when lotteries are excluded, the highest participation was among 35- to 44-year-olds (35%).

Respondents cited motivations primarily as seeking large winnings and entertainment. Notably, 42% reported positive feelings about their most recent gambling expenditure — a figure that suggests many view gambling as a leisure activity rather than a problem.

Conclusion and Outlook

The 2025-2026 data paints a picture of a market in flux. Online channels — especially casino and slots — are powering overall growth, while land-based venues shrink under pressure from digital competition and potential new regulations. The proposed planning and tax changes could accelerate the decline of physical premises, particularly betting shops and 24-hour arcades. At the same time, participation rates remain stable, with lotteries and scratchcards holding a large casual audience.

For operators, the key takeaways are clear: invest in digital platforms, prepare for tougher planning rules, and monitor the potential tax on gaming machines. For policymakers, the challenge is to balance consumer protection (especially for vulnerable groups) with the economic contributions of a £17.5 billion industry.