UK online gambling yield up 7% in Q4, driven by slots

Total gross gambling yield across all online segments was £1.45billion, representing an increase of 7% compared to the same period last year. The increase was driven by strong online slots results, which saw growth in player numbers, bet numbers, average play time, and revenue.

The number of people playing online slots rose from 4.5m in March 2024 to 4.77m in March this year, while the number of bets at online slot machines grew to 8.3bn from 7.9bn. The number of play sessions over one hour also rose, from 3.5m in March 2024 to 3.7m in March 2025. 

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Overall, online slots revenue was £689m during the three months, representing an 11% increase from the £622m during the same quarter last year, and was the highest of all online verticals.

The next highest revenue was returned from real event betting. This included major events like the Cheltenham Festival. This year’s Gold Cup was won by Inothewayurthinkin, which beat the 8/13 favourite Galopin Des Champs. 

Sharon McHugh, head of communications and sponsorship at BoyleSports, said of Cheltenham results: “Expectation-wise, it probably finished up more favourably for the bookies.”

Beaten favourites were a recurring theme across the real event betting market, which helped bookmakers enjoy a favourable quarter. Real event betting GGY was up 5% to nearly £6m. However, the number of bets placed and the number of active accounts fell by 1% and 2%, respectively. 

Away from slots, revenue for other online gambling activities, which include casinos and bingo, stayed roughly stable at £139m for the quarter. Esports betting and poker revenue also dropped, although these represent very small portions of the UK online gambling market. 

Licensed betting operator data for the period has also been made available. Offline gambling did not fare as well as online, as its revenue dropped 3% to £554m, driven by a sharp 5% decline in the total number of bets and spins placed, at 3.1 billion. Over-the-counter bets saw mixed results. While revenue remained roughly stable, the total number of pets placed was down 6% for the period.

Bookmakers will have enjoyed a positive start to the new financial year. Nick Rockett won the Grand National at odds of 33-1 with the favourite, Iroko, coming home in fourth place. The Grand National is the biggest betting event in the UK calendar, and bookmakers were expecting to take around £250m of bets from the one race. 

However, some of the Grand National gains will have been tempered by Rory McIlroy’s win at the Augusta Masters, with William Hill stating that the result cost them around £1m. Lee Phelps, spokesperson for William Hill, said: “Rory McIlroy was always the biggest liability in our book before a ball was hit.”