Online casinos continue to flourish in the UK. In particular, the slots section is proving to be very profitable. Whether this continues in the future isn’t certain though due to new regulation that is on its way.
Q4 results for the 2023/24 financial year have been released by the UK Gambling Commission (UKGC). They cover the results of gambling companies that have been licensed and regulated by the UKGC, both land-based and online.
Online total Gross Gambling Yield (GGY) for the period between January 1 and March 31 of this year, reached £1.4 billion. That figure shows a 5% increase to the GGY for the same period in the previous financial year. When compared to the Q3 results for the 2023/24 financial year, there was again good news for the UK gambling industry. The GGY for Q4 was £0.1 billion higher than for the previous quarter.
There has also been a 10% year-on-year increase in the number of total bets/spins that took place in Q4. The total of 24 billion was a new record and the average number of active accounts saw a 2% increase from the previous year.
Playing slots at an online casino continues to be extremely popular in the UK. GGY for Q4 was £614 million and that’s a 12% increase from the 2022/23 financial year. 9.5 million sessions took place that saw players trying to get wins on online slots for over an hour and using welcome bonuses and various codes provided by prominent UK casinos. That’s a 2% increase from the same period in the previous financial year. With AI and VR about to improve slot games, the industry looks to have a bright future.
Will these figures continue to be so impressive in the future? Earlier this year, it was announced that maximum stake limits would be introduced for online slot games. There are concerns about how safe they can be and are seen as very addictive, particularly to younger players. The intention is that in September, players aged between 16 and 24 will not be able to stake more than £2 on a single spin of the reels. If aged 25 or over, the maximum stake limit will be £5.
The result of this year’s UK General Election may cause some delays to take place. Reform of the UK gambling industry is on its way, regardless of who wins the General Election. It will therefore be interesting to see what will happen to the proposed September changes and others that may take place.
Labour’s General Election manifesto has seen the party commit itself to reducing levels of gambling-harm. The manifesto states that they will “reform gambling regulation, strengthening protections.” They added that if elected, the Labour Government would “work with the (gambling) industry on how to ensure responsible gambling.”
Previously, the gambling machines seen in UK High Street bookmakers saw action taken against their maximum stakes. A figure of £100 that was seeing huge losses being incurred by some players was reduced to just £2 a game.
This led to reduced revenue figures that caused some shops to be closed and staff redundancies made. Could the same happen when the new regulations come into force?
Michael Dugher is the CEO and acting chair of the British Gaming Council (BGC) which is a trade association for the UK’s gambling industry. Many of their members operate online casinos. With there being an emphasis on reforming that section of the gambling industry, the BGC is concerned about what may happen in the future.
How would the promised new regulation for online casinos affect the industry? The BGC are calling for any changes to be both “evidence-based” and “proportionate.” Mr Dugher added that while “protecting the vulnerable,” there must not be “unnecessary intrusion” for those gamblers who bet responsibly.
Stricter affordability checks are being planned by the Conservative, Labour and Liberal Democrats. A compulsory levy on gambling companies could also hit revenue.
The affordability checks would have the aim of proving that gamblers are able to afford the amounts they are gambling (and losing) at online casinos.
The fear that the BGC and the online casino industry has is that stricter affordability checks could result in a drop in customer levels. Site members of online casinos who feel the checks are intrusive and unacceptable could decide to leave regulated sites.
They would instead gamble on the black market and that’s not good news at all. The levels of customer protection are much lower at unlicensed and unregulated online casinos. The licensed sites would see revenue figures fall and the government see a drop in the amount of gambling tax received.
The online casino is continually reporting strong revenue figures, In March alone, the total yield for online slot games was £220.4 million. It will be interesting indeed to see how planned changes affect those revenue figures
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