UK gamblers boosted their activity across all verticals in October, but football’s return relegated online slots to second place among customer losses. 

Figures released Thursday by the UK Gambling Commission (UKGC) show its online licensees’ gross gambling revenue (GGY) hit £542m in October, a 29% rise from September’s result. The UKGC credited the gain in part to the recent return of Premier League football boosting active accounts by 7%, as well as a number of bookie-friendly results.  

Football’s resumption pushed real event online betting GGY up 52% from September to £290m, with the number of individual bets rising 12%. For the first time since the UKGC began its pandemic market watch in March, online betting customer losses exceeded those for online slots. 

Football was the tide that lifted all betting boats in October, as retail wagering totaled £115.6m, up 15.6% from September. Bets placed by self-service betting terminals (SSBT) drove the retail gains, with SSBT GGY up 49% to £41.2m while OTC betting rose a mere 3% to £74.5m (likely due to bettors’ pandemic preference for dealing with machines, not humans).