The UK regulated gambling market generated £17.5bn in gross gambling yield over the twelve months to March 2026, up 4.4% year-on-year. Online casino drove the growth, offsetting declines in remote betting and bingo, according to the Gambling Commission.
The remote segment — casino, betting and bingo — delivered £8.3bn, a rise of 6.9%. Online casino GGY reached £5.7bn, up 14.8%, with slots inside the category climbing 15% to £4.8bn. Remote betting fell 6.6% to £2.45bn, while remote bingo dropped 13.8% to £147.8m.
Revenue grew even as player activity contracted. New registrations totalled 32.4m, down 3%, and active accounts at quarter-end stood at 25.7m. Player deposits fell 13.9%.
Retail posted £4.9bn, up 1.1%. Arcades rose 10.7% to £800.1m and adult gaming centres climbed 11.3% to £761.4m. Bingo grew 8.2% to £703.8m. Land-based casinos were flat at £934m, up just 0.4%. Betting shops, the largest retail segment, dropped 3.3% to £2.42bn. Licensed betting shop numbers fell 3.6% to 5,617, the twelfth consecutive period of decline.
Lotteries contributed £4.3bn. National Lottery sales rose 0.9% to £7.9bn and society lotteries increased 5.7% to £1.2bn. National Lottery directed £1.7bn to good causes, up 2.8%.
Licensed operators fell 1.1% to 2,154, while the number of licences edged up 0.4% to 3,097. Ben Haden, the Commission's director of research, said the shifts in market structure are complex and require analysis of multiple factors.
