UKGC Reveals Income for 2022

The UK Gambling Commission (UKGC) has announced that the overall gross gambling yield (GGY) for the 2nd quarter of 2022 has dropped by 4% quarter on quarter to £1.2bn.

There were many drop-offs when it comes to the GGY as the cost of living crisis has affected people’s spending on gambling and sports betting.

The GGY for slot games fell by 3% quarter on quarter, hitting a total of £548m in Q2. The number of spins also dropped by 2 % to 18.5 billion. The number of active users plunged by 4% to 3.4 million users per month.

The number of online slot game sessions has stayed relatively stable at 8.4 million. The average slot game session lasted circa 17 minutes. 7% of all sessions lasted longer than an hour.

When comparing the active players for all verticals, each one saw significant declines between Q1 and Q2, except for online casino games, which saw an increase of 4%.

The most significant drop in active players was with real event betting, which slipped by 15% between quarters.

The UK Gambling Commission has once again reminded its expectations of operators alongside the publication of this data. The regulator has reminded that operators should follow the guidance that was published in 2020, with a special interest in clients who are expanding their portfolio of games and are spending more time and money than normal.

Furthermore, the UKGC has also stated that operators must actively interact with clients with trigger warnings and not exploit the current economic situation by taking advantage of players who may be in dire situations.

Finally, the regulator said that operators need to pay careful attention when onboarding new players and making decisions around affordability checks, which was criticized this week by a Tory MP.

In the meantime, the Commission will continue to take adjective steps in strengthening regulatory requirements, including changes to the Licence Conditions and Codes of Practice as well as the Remote Technical Standards.

It continues to monitor operators very closely, conduct various compliance assessments and, ultimately, handing fines when necessary.