UK online gambling market annual revenue should top £3b under new licensing regime

The UK online gambling market generates around £3b in annual revenue, according to statistics compiled under the country’s new regulatory regime.

On Thursday, the UK Gambling Commission (UKGC) released statistics covering market activity between April 2014 and March 2015, the first report to include data after Nov. 1, 2014, the date by which all UK-facing online gambling operators were required to to obtain a UKGC license.

The data marks the first opportunity to measure the true scope of the UK’s online gambling market. The 12-month period includes only five months of the new regime, and precise full-year figures won’t be known until the UKGC’s next report in June 2016, but extrapolation of the five-month period reveals some interesting numbers.

Total gross gaming yield (GGY) from online operations during the five-month period came to £1.45b, eclipsing the £1.1b generated by UK-licensed operators in the 12 months prior to Nov. 1, 2014. Total betting turnover over these five months came to £13.8b. Extrapolating these figures to cover a 12-month period, the UK online market GGY is worth over £3b, with turnover of more than £33b.