Gambling Industry Statistics report on the size and shape of the customer facing gambling industry in Great Britain. This report provides an overview of Gross Gambling Yield (GGY) made by licensed gambling operators from Great British (GB) gambling customers for each customer-facing sector, along with the numbers of licensed operators and premises. It is based on data reported to us by the operators we license and regulate. The accompanying data file includes figures for all sectors, based on data from April 2023 to March 2024, as well as historical data back to 2009.

The size of the global online gambling and betting industry amounted to ** billion U.S. dollars in 2024. This has been forecast to rise to *** billion U.S. dollars by 2029. In comparison, the market size of the global sports betting and lottery industry was valued at roughly *** billion U.S. dollars as of March 2025. Overall, the global sports betting industry had more than ******* employees and approximately ****** businesses. What is the most popular type of online gambling in the United States? As of 2024, online sports betting ranked as the form of online gambling with the highest share of participants in the U.S. In total, ** percent of U.S. adults said they made online bets on sports. Meanwhile, the total revenue from sports betting in the U.S. amounted to ***** billion U.S. dollars in 2023, denoting an increase of approximately ** percent from the previous year. Meanwhile, ********** was the most popular sports betting website in the U.S. as of January 2024. What is the United Kingdom’s National Lottery? A lottery is a form of gambling where participants purchase numbered tickets with the aim of matching those numbers with lots, which are drawn randomly at a later date. Established in 1994, the National Lottery is a nationwide version of the activity that is regulated by the Gambling Commission of the United Kingdom. Between April 2023 and March 2024, over ***** billion British pounds worth of National Lottery tickets were sold. Meanwhile, more than *** billion British pounds were available as prize money for potential winners of the National Lottery in the same period.

Gambling and betting form a key part of the UK’s landscape, intertwined with the nation’s culture through sport, racing and leisure. Betting habits have evolved, with punters moving from high-street shops to online platforms that now pull in the lion’s share of revenue – data from the Gambling Commission (GC) shows the online sector’s gross gambling yield (GGY) reached £1.54 billion in 2024, underlining the scale of this shift. As online betting has grown, though, so too have concerns over addiction, prompting regulators to tighten rules and step up efforts to protect customers. Revenue is forecast to climb at a compound annual rate of 3.5% over the five years through 2025-26 to £17.2 billion, including an expected jump of 2.4% in 2025-26. Much of the industry’s recent growth reflects the recovery of betting shops after the pandemic, when revenue was hit hard by forced closures. That rebound has helped accelerate the longer-term shift to online gambling, which has expanded sharply, with GC data showing a 21% rise in GGY in Q4 2024 compared to the same period a year earlier as unfavourable sports results stabilised and more consumers migrated to digital platforms. Consumers are increasingly drawn to the convenience and accessibility of online platforms, with remote games proving the biggest winners – GGY from remote games rose 7% year-on-year in Q1 2025, according to the GC, driven by an 11% surge in online slot games. The rapid growth of slots has brought them under closer scrutiny, prompting the introduction of regulations capping stake limits in April 2025. Even with revenue on the rise, profit has been hit by this heavier regulation, as well as soaring marketing costs. Over the five years through 2030-31, revenue is forecast to expand at a compound annual rate of 2.6% to £19.6 billion. The industry will continue to be shaped by debate over gambling safety and public harm, a discussion expected to culminate in tighter regulation that will hoist operating costs even higher. Banks will play their part in protecting consumers, with schemes including Nationwide’s gambling blocks holding back demand for betting. AI is also poised to reshape the industry, with companies promoting it as a means to reduce costs and expand revenue through targeted marketing and promotions. However, ethical concerns, particularly around the risk of exacerbating gambling harm, continue to cloud AI’s potential.

Casino drop and win data is provided voluntarily by all casinos licensed in Great Britain and shows the amount of money exchanged for chips in a casino (drop) and the amount retained by the casino (win). Drop and win information is provided through regulatory returns monthly and is based on casino games only (not gaming machines). The data is not split into the types of game played as information is considered to be commercially sensitive.

The latest data is published on the final Thursday of every month and is based on an updated rolling year average, showing figures for the previous 12 months.

The information published within the drop and win report is aimed primarily at those within the casino industry although it may also be of interest to international regulators, journalists, academic researchers, financial institutions, statisticians and local authorities.

The COVID-19 pandemic and ongoing investigations have rattled the major players in Australia’s Casinos industry, reducing revenue.

The Gambling Impact and Behavior Study investigates the gambling behavior and attitudes of adults and youth in America, and also estimates the effects of gambling facilities on a variety of local economic and social indicators. Respondents were randomly selected by a national random-digit dial (RDD) through a stratified design by state lottery status and distances to major casino. The study includes three independent, unlinkable data files. The adult and youth questionnaire (Parts 1 and 2) covered areas such as demographic information, geographic region, gambling behavior and attitudes, motivations for gambling, gambling history, a problem-gambling diagnostic assessment, gambling treatment experience, family/marital status and issues, income and financial information, criminal activity, mental and general health, and substance use. Areas of substance abuse examined were the use of alcohol, marijuana, hashish, cocaine, crack, methamphetamine, stimulants, tranquilizers, amphetamines, and speed. The Community Database (Part 3) included the following: geographic locators (latitude, longitude), availability of gaming facilities, gaming spending estimates, employment patterns by industry, unemployment, bankruptcy, personal income, private and public earnings, government expenditures, income maintenance/AFDC, and vital statistics.

As of March 2019, the number there were a total of 8,320 betting shops in Great Britain. Over the observation period, the betting company Betfred doubled the number of their premises, reaching 1,620 betting shops. Ladbrokes, on the other hand, experienced decline and as of 2019, operated 1,828 betting shops.

Gambling is is illegal for people below the age of 18.   

Gambling as well as the National Lottery in Great Britain are regulated by the Gambling Commission in partnership with the licensing authorities. Тhe legal gambling age is 18, however, according to a survey by the Gambling Commission, seven percent of 13-year old youths gambled on commercial premises within the week prior to the survey.

One third of people gamble once a week.   

In 2018, approximately 33 percent of people above the age of 16 who were surveyed on their gambling behavior advised that they had gambled once a week in the month prior to the survey. The gambling sector in Great Britain has continuously been growing since 2011. In 2018, the gross gambling yeld of the gambling industry in Great Britain amounted to approximately 2.25 billion British pounds.