Two-part UKGC study highlights intricate UK sector

The latest market report from the UK Gambling Commission (UKGC) has shown that Family Entertainment Centres (FECs) are slowly recovering, days after Bacta warned that this growth could be stifled by the introduction of an Overnight Visitor Levy.

Covering a 12-month period between October 2024 and September 2025, the Commission reported that while the number of FEC premises declined from 174 to 164, Gross gaming yield (GGY) more than doubled – standing at £16.2m in September 2025 compared to £6.6m at the end of 2024.

Still, Bacta estimates show that FEC operating profits dropped by 29% between 2023-2024, and that even a modest visitor levy could mean annual losses of between £14m and £28m for the venues.

With consultations on the levy already concluded and a final decision already on its way, it remains to be seen whether Bacta’s predictions will come true.

Questions raised as betting GGY drops

Another highlight from the UKGC’s market analysis report revealed a quarter-on-quarter drop in betting GGY across both remote and non-remote channels.

GGY from non-remote betting was the highest between October and December 2024 at £655m, followed by a slight drop between January-March last year, when GGY stood at £616m. 

An uptick between April-June brought £622m in GGY, while GGY in that 12-month period was at its lowest by the end of September – standing at £592m.

Remote betting GGY went through a gradual decline, starting at £750m, then dropping to £651m, £634m, until it hit its lowest point by the end of September at £568m.

This decline, especially in remote betting GGY, signals that UK betting operators will be looking at ways to turn it around throughout 2026, especially when the Remote Gaming Duty goes up from 21% to 40% in April.

However, the decline in UK retail betting has been known for some time, and so operators are likely more than aware of the situation – even prior to the tax changes announced in the Autumn budget.

National Lottery retains strong momentum

Lastly, the National Lottery, remote and non-remote included, generated the second highest GGY in the sector right after online casino. Remote casino remained stable QoQ, generating GGY of between £1.3bn and £1.4bn.

Meanwhile, the National Lottery generated GGY of £843m in September 2025, coming off a record April-June period generating £926m in GGY.

However, National Lottery ticket sales declined QoQ, going down from £2.1bn at the end June to £1.97bn at the end of September. Contributions to good causes also dropped, going down QoQ from £480m to £403m.

Online least popular among young people?

In conjunction with its GGY analysis report, the UKGC also released the latest edition of the Gambling Survey for Great Britain (GSGB), surveying a total of 5,883 adults aged 18 and over between 30 June and 31 October 2025.

A total of 48% responded they had gambled in the four weeks prior to the survey, including lottery draws, with males being the dominant gender category at 52% against females at 45%.

The biggest percentage of gambling participation rates was recorded at those aged between 55 and 64, at 56%. This was followed by the 45-to-54 age bracket at 55%. 

Both age groups engaged the most with online gambling, at 46% for each group. Both groups also engaged almost equally with retail channels, with the 45-54 age group at 31% and the 55-64 group at 32%.

Online participation at 46% was also the highest among all age groups, followed by those aged 35-44 at 40%. 

Interestingly, the lowest engagement rates with online gambling was recorded among those aged 18-24, at just 23% – the same percentage for that age bracket when it comes to in-person gambling engagement.

Offering final remarks on the simultaneous release of both datasets, Helen Bryce, UKGC Head of Statistics, concluded: “Publishing the official statistics on the same day means we can highlight the opportunity to look at the two datasets side by side and to assess their coherence and comparability with each other.

“This is the type of analysis that our team looks to undertake. We hope that by co-ordinating the publication of these important statistics we can highlight the nature of the opportunity, and the potential pitfalls for others to be aware of when using these data sources together.”