UK online gamblers gave up playing poker in September while sports betting surged with the resumption of Premier League football.
Figures released Thursday by the UK Gambling Commission (UKGC) show ‘real event’ betting was the only major gaming vertical to report a revenue increase from August to September, with the return of top flight football pushing betting revenue up 15% to £189.6m. The number of active bettors rose 14% month-to-month while the total number of bets rose only 5%.
Online slots, the Loki of online gambling’s Marvel universe, saw more players make fewer bets, as active player ranks rose 6% from August to September while total slots bets and operator revenue both fell 4%. In fact, September’s slots revenue of £157m was the lowest monthly total since the UKGC began its pandemic market watch in April.
Non-slots casino revenue fell 5% despite the total number of bets rising 2%. The ranks of active casino gamblers fell 4%, meaning the absence of casino dilettantes left the more committed players to shoulder the load. Market-wide, the return of sports resulted in the share of gamblers who wagered on more than one activity falling to 32% in September from 41% in April.
Online poker’s brief pandemic resurgence is truly toast, with the vertical reporting across the board declines in revenue (-5%), active players (-6%) and number of bets placed (-13%) in September. Nearly the same pattern applied to virtual betting revenue (-9%) and number of bets (-8%) despite virtual actives staying roughly flat.
September marked the second full month of retail betting activity following spring’s shutdown and consumer skittishness regarding face-to-face interaction was on full display. While the number of over-the-counter bets was up 3% from August to September, bets with self-service betting terminals rose 24% — although OTC wagers still dwarf SSBT bets by a factor of six – and in-shop machine gaming reported 7% growth.
