Britain’s gambling market grows as the number of premises falls - What do the latest figures show?
United Kingdom
Online casino is driving the increase. The land-based sector also reports overall growth, despite a shrinking network of premises and weaker results in betting shops.
Great Britain’s gambling market generated £17.5 billion in gross gambling yield (GGY) between April 2025 and March 2026, up 4.4% on the previous financial year. Meanwhile, the number of licensed gambling premises fell by 2% to 8,081, according to figures published by the Gambling Commission on 17 September 2026.
The headline growth masks different trends across the industry. Online casino continues to expand, while land-based betting is contracting. Bingo and licensed gaming centers, however, recorded increases.
Online casino drives growth
Remote casino, betting and bingo generated a combined £8.3 billion in GGY, an increase of 6.9% year on year. Land-based sectors reached £4.9 billion, up 1.1%. Both figures exclude lotteries.
Online casino made the largest contribution to the overall increase. Its GGY reached £5.7 billion, up £736 million compared with the previous year, according to the regulator.
For operators and suppliers, this distinction matters: growth across the remote sector reflects the combined performance of several products, each developing at a different pace.
Fewer betting shops, stronger results for bingo and gaming centers
The number of betting shops fell by 3.6% to 5,617, while GGY from land-based betting declined by 3.3%. Other land-based segments recorded growth: 0.4% for casinos, 8.2% for bingo and 10.7% for licensed gaming centers included in the regulator’s arcades category.
The land-based sector therefore ended the period with a positive overall result, but substantial differences between individual activities. A smaller physical network does not mean every segment is declining.
The figures do not establish whether customers of closed premises moved online. Nor do they show whether the remaining locations became more profitable. Assessing that would require revenue and cost data for the individual premises.
What the figures measure
GGY represents stakes and other directly related income from licensed gambling activities, minus winnings and prizes paid out. It is neither the total amount wagered nor the operator’s profit after costs and taxes. For lotteries, the equivalent measure is ticket sales minus prizes.
The £17.5 billion headline figure includes reported lotteries. Excluding them, the market generated £13.2 billion in GGY, up 4.7% year on year.
The statistics cover Great Britain - England, Scotland and Wales - and do not include Northern Ireland.
What this means for Bulgarian businesses
For Bulgarian operators and suppliers, the British results offer a reason to examine their own product mix more closely. Which activities are driving growth? What contribution do physical premises make? How does additional revenue compare with spending on technology, staffing, marketing and compliance?
The British statistics do not provide ready-made answers for Bulgaria. They do, however, show how much variation can sit behind a single market growth figure, both between remote and land-based gambling and within those sectors.
Sources: Gambling Commission, annual industry statistics for April 2025–March 2026 and accompanying analysis. Changes are measured against the previous financial year and are not adjusted for inflation.
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