The UK Gambling Commission has released the report on the third quarter of the 2023 financial year. The report reflects on the market and the changes that have occurred between Q3 2022 and Q3 202/23.
Gross Gambling Yield Increased by 4% YoY
UK’s GGY in Q3 of 2023 reached £1.3 billion, which represents a 4% increase compared to Q3 of 2022. Moreover, real event betting GGY reached £468 million, a 5% increase YoY. However, total bets and actives decreased by 3%.
Slots had a pretty decent period. Their GGY increased by 6% YoY and reached £618 million. Online slots, specifically, had longer sessions. The report states that the number of sessions that were over one hour increased by 3% YoY (9.8 million). Interestingly enough, the average session decreased from 19 minutes in Q3 2022 to 17 minutes in Q3 2023.
Next, the overall number of bets/spins also recorded a 9% increase YoY. The number of active online accounts reached 4 million per month, which represents an 8% increase compared to Q3 of 2022.
Finally, LBO GGY reached £563 million, which is a 0.5% increase and the total number of bets and spins was 3.3 million, a 4% decrease.
The UKGC Fined Several Operators To Ensure A Safe Gambling Environment
As one of the most reputable gambling regulators in the world, the UKGC is always active in ensuring a safe environment for players. To keep the gaming market secure and legal, the Commission has the right to issue fines and revoke licences.
The recent period proved to be hard for those who weren’t able to comply with these rules. The UKGC has been relentless against operators of this type. In January alone, the commission issued a £6 million fine to Gamesys Operations Limited. The company operates 12 websites in the UK and was found guilty of several social responsibility failures.
These include not identifying customers at risk, having a flawed deposit limit system, not interacting with customers who were at risk, etc.
In 2023, UKGC issued fines to Lindar Media Limited, In Touch Games Limited, Star Racing Limited, Videoslots Limited, SkillOnNet, William Hill Group and more. Done Bros (Cash Betting) and William Hill Group had the worst time.
Done Bros (Cash Betting) had to pay a £3.25 million fine for not having control over the protection of new players and making assumptions about customers not being at risk even though they gambled huge amounts of money.
As for William Hill Group, the UKGC ordered three gambling businesses owned by this entity to pay a total of £19.2 million for AML and social responsibility failures.
With these actions, the commission wanted to warn all operators in the UK that illegal activities will not be tolerated. Customer protection must be kept at the highest level. That was solidified by Andrew Rhodes, the CEO of the UKGC.
While speaking at the GambleAware Annual Conference in December 2023, Rhodes noted that the Commission will stay vigilant in protecting players. Its dedication towards a safe gambling environment led to a “reduction in the most extreme and unacceptable examples of failings in our casework.”
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