GB online gross gambling yield slips 2% in third quarter

British online gross gambling yield (GGY) declined 2% year-on-year in the third quarter of the 2022-23 financial year, though the land-based sector experienced growth.

Total GGY for the online sector in the three months to 31 December 2021 stood at £1.20bn (€1.36bn/$1.44m), down marginally from the previous year, according to the Gambling Commission.

The decline, the Commission said, was driven by a decline in both the real event betting and casino verticals. 

Online real event betting GGY fell 3% to £446m, despite the number of bets rising 21% and the amount of average monthly active accounts increasing 20%. 

The Commission said the rise in general participation was most likely due to the 2022 FIFA World Cup taking place across November and December, but the suspension of top European leagues due to the national team tournament may have led to a drop in overall spend.

Virtual betting GGY also declined 30.2% to £12.0m and esports betting GGY slipped 29.4% to £2.4m.

Turning to online casino and GGY was down 8% overall, with slots GGY falling 2% to £582m for the quarter. This was despite the number of spins increasing 8% to 19.7 billion and average monthly active accounts up 13% to 3.7 million, with the number of spins per active player down 5%.

Other gaming GGY, including casino, slipped 7.8% to £159.7m, while poker GGY was down 11.6% to £17.6m and GGY from other activities declined 37.5% to £2.0m.

Land-based

Looking at the land-based segment, GGY increased 5% year-on-year to £560m, while the total number of bets and spins increased by 2% to 3.4 billion.

Over-the-counter (OTC) GGY fell 5% to £158m, with the number of bets placed falling 4% to 140 million. The Commission noted the impact of the World Cup, absence of the Premier League and horse racing fixture abandonments were particularly apparent in December, with OTC bets at their lowest level since shops reopened fully after the pandemic.

Self-service betting terminals (SSBTs) continued to experience growth with GYY climbing 20% to £100m, with the number of bets placed increasing 25% to 35.1 million.

Machines GGY was also up 6% to £302m with the average spend per session increasing to £12.48. The average number of spins per machines session also climbed to 133 spins in Q3. 

In addition, the Commission noted that 3% of total machines sessions lasted more than an hour in Q3.

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