UK Gambling Industry GGY Reaches £4.5bn In Q4 As Online Betting Continues To Lead

Britain’s gambling industry generated £4.5bn in gross gambling yield (GGY) during the fourth quarter of 2025, according to the Gambling Commission, representing a 2.27% increase from the same period a year earlier.

GGY, which measures operator revenue after winnings have been paid, rose from £4.4bn in the fourth quarter of 2024. Excluding lotteries, total GGY stood at £3.3bn.

Online gambling continued to account for a substantial share of the market. Remote casino, betting and bingo generated £2.12bn in GGY during the three-month period, with remote casino alone contributing £1.49bn, equivalent to 70% of the segment’s revenue.

Online Gambling Remains A Major Revenue Source

Turnover across remote casino, betting and bingo reached £39.18bn during the quarter. Remote betting generated £599.05m in GGY, while remote bingo contributed £38.66m.

Across the full year, remote casino, betting and bingo generated £5.55bn in GGY. Land-based sectors, including arcades, betting shops, bingo halls and casinos, generated approximately £1.2bn during the quarter. Non-remote betting accounted for £613m, or 48.2% of total non-remote gambling revenue.

The figures were published alongside findings from the Gambling Commission’s latest Gambling Survey for Great Britain (GSGB), which was conducted between 22 September 2025 and 18 January 2026. The survey found that 47% of respondents had gambled in the previous four weeks. When people who had only participated in lotteries were excluded, the proportion fell to 26%.

Online gambling participation was reported at 37%, compared with 27% for in-person gambling. Excluding lottery-only activity, the respective figures were 15% and 17%.

Older Age Groups Report Higher Participation

People aged 55 to 64 recorded the highest overall gambling participation, with 56% reporting activity during the previous four weeks.

Participation stood at 54% among those aged 45 to 54 and 51% among those aged 35 to 44. By comparison, 31% of 18-to-24-year-olds reported gambling during the period, although younger adults were more likely to participate in non-lottery products.

Men reported higher participation than women, at 49% and 44% respectively. Online gambling participation was 41% among men and 34% among women. Betting showed a wider difference, with 13% of men reporting participation compared with 4% of women. Lottery products remained the most widely used form of gambling. National Lottery draw tickets were purchased by around 31% of respondents during the previous four weeks, rising to 36% when charity lotteries were included.

National Lottery ticket sales reached £2.02bn during the quarter, generating £415.11m for good causes. Large society lotteries contributed a further £126.2m.

Gambling Commission Plans AI-Powered Advertising Sweep

The Gambling Commission also outlined plans for an AI-powered marketing sweep designed to identify gambling advertisements that could be unsuitable for under-18s.

The regulator said:

If we identify ads that break the rules, we will require you to amend or remove the ad immediately and, if you fail to comply, we will impose sanctions, which may include referral to the platform hosting the ad and/or the Gambling Commission.

The latest statistics also showed that 8,148 licensed gambling premises were operating across Great Britain during the quarter. Those premises included 5,669 betting shops and contained 191,325 gaming machines.