Great Britain Gambling GGY Rises More Than 4% to £17.5B

Great Britain’s gambling industry generated £17.5 billion ($23.4 billion) in gross gambling yield (GGY) during FY2026, a 4.4% increase from the previous year.

Excluding lotteries, the Gambling Commission said GGY rose 4.7% to £13.2 billion ($17.7 billion) between April 2025 and March 2026.

Growth was strongest online. Remote casino, betting and bingo GGY climbed 6.9% to £8.3 billion ($11.1 billion), compared with a 1.1% increase across the land-based sectors.

The increase came as the number of licensed gambling premises continued to fall. Great Britain had 8,081 licensed premises at the end of the period, down 2% year-on-year.

Several operators have announced shop closures over recent months, including Entain and Flutter, citing a rising tax burden.

Online Sector Drives Growth

Online casino games were the largest segment of the remote market, generating £5.7 billion ($7.6 billion) in GGY. Slots accounted for £4.8 billion ($6.4 billion) of that total.

Remote betting generated £2.4 billion ($3.2 billion). Football contributed £1.2 billion ($1.6 billion), while horseracing accounted for £769.3 million ($1.03 billion).

Despite the increase in remote GGY, new account registrations fell 3% to 32.4 million. There were 25.7 million active accounts at the end of the final reporting quarter.

Funds held in customer accounts also declined sharply. Operators held £886.6 million ($1.19 billion), down 13.9% from the same point a year earlier.

Retail betting moved in the opposite direction to the wider market. Non-remote betting GGY fell 3.3% to £2.4 billion ($3.2 billion).

The number of betting shops declined for a 12th consecutive reporting period. There were 5,617 premises, 208 fewer than in March 2025 and a 3.6% annual drop.

Other retail sectors performed better. Bingo GGY increased 8.2% to £703.8 million ($941.8 million), while arcade GGY rose 10.7% to £800.1 million ($1.07 billion).

Entain Pushes for Faster Action on Unlicensed Sponsorship

The new figures underline the scale of Britain’s regulated gambling market, as Entain calls for tougher action against operators outside it.

Entain said 11 of 20 Premier League clubs now have sponsorship or advertising arrangements with gambling operators that do not hold a Gambling Commission license. That is up from the government’s estimate of eight clubs in the 2025/26 season.

CEO Stella David said clubs entering new agreements had already been warned that restrictions were coming. The company also said it wanted restrictions to online and digital advertising to be introduced.

“The government made clear in February that it would bring in a ban and it should do so immediately,” David said. “Inconvenience is not an excuse for inaction.”

Entain cited analysis that forecast bets placed from the UK with unlicensed operators could rise from  £17 billion ($22.8 billion) in 2025 to more than £33 billion by 2028.

Entain cited analysis showing bets placed in the UK with unlicensed operators could rise from £17 billion ($22.8 billion) in 2025 to more than £33 billion ($44.2 billion) by 2028.