New UK data shows record online slots yield while betting shop revenue continues to fall

The Gambling Commission’s latest report shows a continued trend towards lower spending at retail betting shops.

UK.- The British Gambling Commission has published its latest data from operators, covering the quarter between July and September 2025. Covering both online and in-person gambling at high-street bookmakers, the report shows a continued decline in the retail betting segment just as major operators such as Flutter, Evoke and Betfred eye mass closures.

The data shows that online gross gambling yield (GGY) for the quarter was £1.42bn, an increase of 8 per cent from Q2 last year. The number of total bets and spins increased 3 per cent year-on-year to 26.1bn, while the average monthly active accounts decreased by 7 per cent, to 12m.

Record high for online slots yield

Slots GGY was up by 9 per cent to a record £747m. Here the number of spins increased 4 per cent to a high of 24.4bn while the average monthly active accounts decreased by 0.4 per cent to 4.4m per month. The GGY and number of spins represented new peaks for this dataset for the second quarter in a row.

The number of online slots sessions lasting longer than an hour decreased by 15 per cent to 8.6m, and the average session length decreased by 1 minute to 16 minutes. Approximately 4.6 per cent of all sessions lasted more than one hour, a decrease from 6 per cent in Q2 last year. The Gambling Commission noted that a couple of operators have refined their session length methodology, impacting on comparisons.

It also noted that Q2 was the second quarter since the new maximum stake limit for online slots games was introduced. Implemented from April 9, the initial limit was set at £5. A lower limit of £2 for under 24s was introduced on May 21.

Real event betting GGY increased by 12 per cent to £508m although the number of bets decreased by 3 per cent and average monthly active accounts fell by 14 per cent.

Continued decline in betting shop gambling yield

For retail betting premises, it was a different story. GGY decreased by 5 per cent to £508m. The total of bets and spins decreased by 2 per cent to 3.1bn.

The figures come as major gambling groups consider streamlining their retail footprint. Both Evoke and Betfred have said they are looking at possible betting shop closures, particularly if the UK government goes ahead with a widely expected gambling tax hike. Flutter has already announced plans to Flutter to close dozens of Paddy Power betting shops.

The Gambling Commission cautioned that comparison should not be made with the industry statistics dataset, as this dataset may include free bets and bonuses and does not include data from all operators.

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See also: Betfred says ”whole retail betting business” on the line amid fears of UK gambling tax hike