UK online gambling grows but not as fast as land-based casinos

Online gambling activity in the UK continues to grow, but not as fast as land-based casino gambling.

On Thursday, the UK Gambling Commission released its latest compilation of the nation’s gambling activity, spanning the 12-month period between October 2015 and September 2016, during which the overall gambling market’s revenue rose nearly 3% to £13.82b.

As in the UKGC’s most recent report, online gambling remains the top revenue earner at £4.46b, compared with £4.23b in the 12 months spanning April 2015 to March 2016. (The figure covers only revenue derived from British punters playing on UK-licensed operators; total remote betting accounted for nearly £4.8b.)

Spurred by the Euro 2016 football tournament, remote betting was up nearly 10% to £1.7b, while exchange betting added a further £170m. Online casino revenue retained its top dog status with £2.4b, but this represented growth of less than 3%. Online bingo suffered a slight decline to £149m, while pool betting was up 16% to £30.2m.