UKGC reveals total online GGY slid 5% between April and May
Total number of bets and slots spins up 1% while active customer accounts tumble 14%
Gross gambling yield (GGY) for the UK online market fell 5% to just over £533m in May compared with the previous month, according to data published by the UK’s Gambling Commission (GC).
Using information gathered from the largest operators covering around 80% of the UK online market showed online slots GGY rose 4.5% month-on-month (MoM) to £211.2m, while slots bets were up by 2% to 6.1 million.
Average session length remained stable at almost 21 minutes, with nearly 9% of all sessions lasting more than an hour. The number of sessions in excess of 60 minutes increased by 1% to just under 2.6 million.
Meanwhile, real-event betting GGY slumped 11% to £238.8m, down from £267.4m in April, as the major football leagues’ seasons concluded. Active players were down 24%.
The GC attributed part of the fall to the easing of lockdown restrictions and that April would have seen a spike in recreational bettors due to the Grand National taking place for the first time since 2019 because of Covid-19.
GGY for online casino, excluding slots, slipped 8% to £65.3m, yet poker suffered the biggest fall, a 13% drop, among the main verticals.
The £7.3m in GGY achieved was by far the lowest amount in 2021 for online poker as active customers declined 6% MoM to 282,175.
The data also revealed virtual betting GGY slid 5% between April and May to £7.2m as the total number of bets dropped 10%.
As for esports, the vertical enjoyed its highest month of the year as it just managed to breach the £2m barrier.
The GC data showed that the total number of bets and slot spins saw a slight increase of 1% in May but total active accounts were down 14%.
Finally, the regulator said the number of safer gambling interactions in May decreased 2% to one million, with the majority automated in nature. Direct interactions rose 3%.