UK Gambling Commission reports ‘significant growth’ in online market
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The online gaming market has experienced significant growth, according to a new report by the UK Gambling Commission.
Data from the report, which covers both online and in-person gambiling with data from licensed betting operators found on Britain’s highstreet, highlighted how the renewed tightening of COVID-19 lockdown measures has impacted gambling behaviour in the UK.
The latest data for October showed the online market grew, with a month-on-month increase of 29 per cent in gross gambling yield along with a seven per cent increase in active accounts. The report emphasised that the main driver for the increase was due to real even betting, which saw 53 per cent growth in GGY.
Additionally there were increases in both the number of bets, up by 12 per cent, and the number of active players, up seven per cent.
The UKGC noted that real-event betting GGY levels can be ‘volatile due to the influence of sporting event results’. Furthermore, they expressed that they expected an increase in real event betting figures in October.
Moreover, the report showcased that the number of online slots sessions lasting longer than an hour increased by 12 per cent in October from September, yet emphasised that the rise was at the same rate as the increase in overall sessions.
Furthermore, the average session length remained steady at 21 minutes with around eight per cent of all sessions lasting more than one hour.
The Gambling Commission concluded that it has ‘continued to evolve as the country responds to varying levels of restrictions’ and ‘will remain vigilant in light of new national lockdowns announced in recent weeks’.
The public body confirmed it recently wrote to operators to remind them of the guidance that was initially issued in May to online operators which set out the need for improved affordability checks, the prevention of reverse withdrawals and restrictions on bonus offers.
