Last updated: 29 July 2026 | Next scheduled review: September 2026
Great Britain’s customer-facing gambling market generated £16.8 billion in gross gambling yield during the 2024/25 financial year. Online casino, betting, and bingo accounted for £7.8 billion, while 47% of adults said they had gambled during the previous four weeks in the 2025 Gambling Survey for Great Britain.
This page brings the latest official gambling statistics into one place. It covers market size, online and land-based revenue, sports betting, participation, tax receipts, premises, and licence numbers. Figures are taken primarily from the UK Gambling Commission, HM Revenue & Customs, and GOV.UK.
Geography note: Most market and participation figures cover Great Britain, meaning England, Scotland, and Wales. HMRC gambling duty receipts cover the United Kingdom. Northern Ireland is regulated separately and is not included in Gambling Commission market totals.
Key UK Gambling Statistics at a Glance
- £16.8 billion: total Great Britain gambling GGY, including lotteries, in 2024/25.
- £12.6 billion: total GGY after reported lotteries are excluded.
- £7.8 billion: remote casino, betting, and bingo GGY.
- £5.0 billion: online casino GGY, of which slots generated £4.2 billion.
- £2.6 billion: online sports betting GGY, led by football and horse racing.
- 47%: adults who gambled during the previous four weeks in the 2025 survey.
- £3.62 billion: combined UK betting and gaming duty receipts in 2024/25, based on HMRC’s individual duty totals.
| Statistic | Latest figure | Period |
|---|---|---|
| Total gambling GGY | £16.8bn | April 2024 to March 2025 |
| GGY excluding lotteries | £12.6bn | April 2024 to March 2025 |
| Remote casino, betting, and bingo | £7.8bn | April 2024 to March 2025 |
| Land-based sectors | £4.8bn | April 2024 to March 2025 |
| Adults gambling in past four weeks | 47% | January 2025 to January 2026 fieldwork |
| Licensed premises | 8,148 | October to December 2025 |
| Betting shops | 5,669 | October to December 2025 |
How Big Is the Gambling Market in Great Britain?
The customer-facing gambling industry generated £16.8 billion in GGY between April 2024 and March 2025, according to the Gambling Commission. That was 7.3% higher than the previous financial year.
GGY is the amount retained by operators after winnings are paid, before operating costs and tax. It is not the total amount staked by customers.
Removing reported lotteries reduces the market total to £12.6 billion. That figure increased by 9.3% year on year, faster than the headline market including lotteries.
Great Britain Gambling Revenue by Sector
| Sector | 2024/25 GGY | Context |
|---|---|---|
| Online casino games | £5.0bn | Slots generated £4.2bn |
| Online sports betting | £2.6bn | Football and horse racing led the sector |
| Non-remote betting | £2.5bn | Machines accounted for 48.2% |
| Land-based casino | £933.8m | Up 7.9% year on year |
| Arcades | £723.3m | Adult gaming centres contributed most |
| Land-based bingo | £650.4m | Machines generated £424.0m |
| Remote bingo | £165.6m | Part of the remote sector total |
Online casino games alone produced almost 40% of the £12.6 billion market excluding lotteries. Slots supplied £4.2 billion of the £5.0 billion online casino total.
Online vs Land-Based Gambling Statistics
Online casino, sports betting, and bingo generated £7.8 billion in 2024/25, compared with £4.8 billion from land-based arcades, betting shops, bingo halls, and casinos. The remote total rose 13.1%, while the land-based total increased by 3.6%.
The Gambling Commission uses “remote” for gambling conducted online, by phone, or through other remote communication.
| Channel | GGY | Annual change |
|---|---|---|
| Remote casino, betting, and bingo | £7.8bn | +13.1% |
| Land-based sectors | £4.8bn | +3.6% |
The latest quarterly release showed the same broad pattern. Between October and December 2025, remote casino, betting, and bingo generated £2.1 billion. Land-based sectors produced £1.2 billion.
Remote casino contributed £1.5 billion during that quarter, equal to 70% of the remote total.
UK Sports Betting Statistics
Online sports betting, described as remote betting in Gambling Commission data, generated £2.6 billion in GGY during 2024/25. Football accounted for £1.3 billion, while horse racing produced £766.7 million.
| Online sports betting category | GGY | Share of remote betting |
|---|---|---|
| Football | £1.3bn | 50.0% |
| Horse racing | £766.7m | 29.5% |
| Other betting combined | About £533.3m | About 20.5% |
Football and horse racing therefore supplied close to four-fifths of remote betting GGY. The Commission does not provide the same headline breakdown for every individual sport, so the remaining £533.3 million is shown as a combined figure rather than split into unsupported estimates.
Non-remote betting generated a further £2.5 billion. Gaming machines contributed £1.2 billion, or 48.2% of the sector total.
Gambling Participation Statistics
Forty-seven per cent of adults in Great Britain said they had gambled during the previous four weeks in the 2025 Gambling Survey for Great Britain. The rate fell to 27% after people who only entered lottery draws were removed.
| Participation measure | Adults |
|---|---|
| Any gambling in past four weeks | 47% |
| Any gambling excluding lottery-draw-only | 27% |
| Online gambling | 38% |
| Online excluding lottery-draw-only | 16% |
| In-person gambling | 28% |
| In-person excluding lottery-draw-only | 17% |
Online participation initially appears much higher than in-person gambling, at 38% against 28%. Once lottery-draw-only participants are excluded, the relationship reverses slightly: 16% gambled online and 17% gambled in person.
Participation by Age and Sex
- Men reported higher participation: Wave 4 of the survey recorded 49% for men and 44% for women.
- Non-lottery participation was younger: adults aged 35 to 44 recorded the highest rate in Wave 4 at 32%.
- Younger adults used more products: the annual survey found that 18 to 24-year-olds took part in an average of 3.6 gambling activities, falling to 1.7 among adults aged 75 or older.
- Lottery draws remained the main driver: scratchcards, betting, and online instant-win games were among the most common activities after lottery draws.
PGSI Scores and Reported Consequences
The Problem Gambling Severity Index measures reported gambling behaviour and adverse consequences. Among all survey participants, 7.8% scored between 1 and 2, 3.5% scored between 3 and 7, and 2.4% scored 8 or more.
| PGSI score | Share of all adults | Survey category |
|---|---|---|
| 1 to 2 | 7.8% | Low risk |
| 3 to 7 | 3.5% | Moderate risk |
| 8 or more | 2.4% | Problem gambling |
These figures are survey estimates, not exact population counts. The Commission also warns that the current survey methodology is not directly comparable with older telephone-based gambling surveys.
UK Gambling Tax Statistics
HMRC collected about £3.62 billion through seven betting and gaming duties in 2024/25. Remote Gaming Duty was the largest component at £1.163 billion, followed by Lottery Duty at £932 million.
| Duty | 2024/25 receipts |
|---|---|
| Remote Gaming Duty | £1.163bn |
| Lottery Duty | £932m |
| General Betting Duty | £714m |
| Machine Games Duty | £609m |
| Gaming Duty | £165m |
| Bingo Duty | £25m |
| Pool Betting Duty | £8.1m |
| Combined total | About £3.62bn |
HMRC’s provisional figures showed £1.786 billion in betting and gaming receipts between April and August 2025, 9% more than during the same part of the previous financial year.
Gambling Duty Changes in 2026 and 2027
- Remote Gaming Duty: increased from 21% to 40% for accounting periods beginning on or after 1 April 2026.
- Bingo Duty: abolished from 1 April 2026.
- Remote betting: a 25% rate within General Betting Duty is due from 1 April 2027.
- UK horse racing exception: remote bets on UK horse racing are due to remain at 15%, reflecting operators’ separate contribution to the Horserace Betting Levy.
The 2024/25 tax figures pre-date these changes. Future receipts will therefore not be directly comparable without taking the new rates into account.
Betting Shops, Gambling Premises and Operators
Great Britain had 8,234 licensed gambling premises during 2024/25, including 5,825 betting shops. By the October to December 2025 quarter, those totals had fallen to 8,148 premises and 5,669 betting shops.
| Measure | 2024/25 annual figure | Oct-Dec 2025 |
|---|---|---|
| Licensed gambling premises | 8,234 | 8,148 |
| Betting shops | 5,825 | 5,669 |
| Licensed operators | 2,179 at 31 March 2025 | Not stated in quarterly headline data |
| Gaming machines | Not used here | 191,325 |
The number of betting shops has now declined across successive reporting periods. That fall contrasts with continued growth in remote gambling revenue.
Lottery Sales and Good-Causes Contributions
The National Lottery sold £7.9 billion in tickets during 2024/25. It returned £4.5 billion as prizes and contributed £1.6 billion to good causes.
Large society lotteries recorded £1.1 billion in ticket sales, returned £316.3 million as prizes, and contributed £484.6 million to good causes.
| Lottery measure | National Lottery | Large society lotteries |
|---|---|---|
| Ticket sales | £7.9bn | £1.1bn |
| Prizes returned | £4.5bn | £316.3m |
| Good-causes contributions | £1.6bn | £484.6m |
What the Latest Gambling Statistics Show
- Online gambling is doing most of the growing. Remote casino, betting, and bingo GGY increased by 13.1%, compared with 3.6% for land-based sectors.
- Online casino is the market’s largest individual segment. Its £5.0 billion GGY was almost twice remote betting’s £2.6 billion.
- Football remains the main online betting product. It generated half of remote betting GGY in 2024/25.
- The headline participation rate needs context. Removing lottery-draw-only participants reduces the four-week rate from 47% to 27%.
- Physical betting continues to contract. Betting-shop numbers fell from 5,825 in 2024/25 to 5,669 by the final quarter of 2025.
- Tax comparisons will become harder. The sharp rise in Remote Gaming Duty from April 2026 means higher receipts will not necessarily reflect equivalent market growth.
Sources and Methodology
Betfinder uses official sources wherever possible. Market revenue, premises, licence, lottery, and sports-betting figures come from the UK Gambling Commission’s industry statistics. Participation and PGSI data come from the Gambling Survey for Great Britain. Duty receipts and tax rates come from HMRC and GOV.UK.
- Industry Statistics: Annual Report, April 2024 to March 2025 (Gambling Commission)
- Industry Statistics: Quarter 3, October to December 2025 (Gambling Commission)
- Gambling Survey for Great Britain: Annual Report 2025 (Gambling Commission)
- Gambling Participation: Wave 4, September 2025 to January 2026 (Gambling Commission)
- UK Betting and Gaming Statistics (HMRC)
- Gambling Duty Changes (HMRC and GOV.UK)
How to cite this page: “UK Gambling Statistics 2026, Betfinder.io, last updated 29 July 2026.” Please link to this page when using the data or charts.
Important Data Notes
- GGY means stakes received minus winnings paid, not total customer turnover or operator profit.
- Gambling Commission market statistics cover Great Britain, not the whole United Kingdom.
- HMRC duty receipts are UK-wide.
- Quarterly figures can be affected by sporting schedules and should not be annualised without care.
- The Gambling Survey for Great Britain uses a different method from older participation surveys, so the results should not be joined into one continuous long-term series.
- The “other remote betting” figure on this page is derived by subtracting published football and horse-racing GGY from the published remote betting total.
- Figures may be revised by the original publisher. Betfinder checks the official releases at each scheduled update.