During the summer break in the European football season, the sports betting industry experienced a significant decline in yield. According to operators representing 80% of the British market, the Gross Gambling Yield (GGY) dropped by 21.4% month-over-month to £164.4m (€182.3m/$214.5m). This decline was primarily attributed to the lack of top-tier sporting events in August. However, other verticals in the gambling industry also experienced a decrease, as the easing of lockdown measures provided consumers with more discretionary spending options.
In August, slots were the only vertical to report a sequential decline in yield, although revenue grew marginally by 0.8% to £164.1m. Other casino games ranked third in terms of revenue, but GGY fell by 9.9% to £59.5m. Poker, on the other hand, continued its decline from its lockdown peak, with GGY falling by 7.5% to £8.3m. This represents a significant drop of 58.4% from its peak of £20.1m in April, during the height of the pandemic’s first wave in Britain. The virtual sports vertical also experienced a similar trajectory, with its monthly total of £6.7m down by 16.1% from July and 47.9% from its peak of £12.8m in April. In contrast, esports betting was unable to achieve double-digit revenue growth during lockdown, and with the return of traditional sports, it has seen a steady decline. In August, its total revenue came to £1.8m, down by 29.5%. Other forms of legal real-money gambling also saw a decline in GGY, dropping by 8.8% month-over-month to £1.2m.
The decline in yield was accompanied by a decrease in active player numbers across all online verticals. In online betting, active players decreased by 9.7% to 3.8m, although it remained the largest vertical in terms of customers. For slots, the drop in players was more marginal, falling by 2.1% to 2.4m. The average online gambling session length held steady at 21 minutes since June, despite a decrease in the number of sessions lasting over one hour to 2.0m.
In the British betting shop market, data from operators representing approximately 85% of the market revealed that gaming machine yield decreased by 2.1% month-on-month, but still contributed £79.9m. Over the counter GGY increased by 13.9% to £71.2m as more betting shops reopened, while self-service betting terminal revenue dropped by 29.3% to £16.4m. Player data from a survey conducted by the Commission indicated little change in customer gambling habits after lockdown. The majority of respondents (70%) stated that they had not changed their gambling habits. Additionally, 18% of respondents reported a decrease in gambling spend, while only 8% admitted to increasing their spending. Comparing the post-lockdown figures to those during lockdown, it appeared that fewer players increased their spending (12% during lockdown) and more players kept their spending levels the same (increasing from 59% to a significant majority). The number of players who decreased their spending also declined (from 25% during lockdown).
