A Gambling Commission report has shown that Gross Gambling Yield (GGY) decreased by 7% during the month of June 2021.
The total bets placed saw a larger fall with that figure going down by 10%. One area in which there were significant falls was in the playing of slot games. The GGY for slots fell by 14% from May to June, down to £181 million. This saw a reduction of 10% in terms of the number of spins.
There was also a fall in the length of online slots sessions that lasted over an hour. This went down by 9% with the length of an average session down to 19.3 minutes. 8% of all sessions saw players spinning the reels for over an hour.
The fall in the playing of slot games could perhaps be because players are turning back to betting on sport rather than casino games.
There was an increase however in the number of active players. This was up 4% and it is likely that Euro 2020 was the reason for this. If that is the case then figures for July may also see an increase, especially after England reached the final.
The Gambling Commission said that the operator data “reflects the period between March 2020 and June 2021, inclusive, and covers both online and, where relevant, some offline gambling operator data, noting that land-based premises have only recently been able to open since closing in December.”
They added that: “It is not advisable to make year-on-year comparisons between months in 2020 and months in 2021, due to differing operating circumstances of 2020 and 2021.”
The report also saw the Gambling Commission turning their attention towards the protection of players: “We recognise that the country is now entering a different phase as we continue to ease out of lockdown. We continue to expect extra vigilance from operators as consumers are impacted in different ways by the circumstances.”
The summer months are a busy time with many sporting events to be placing bets on. Then comes August and the return of the top football leagues, so plenty of betting opportunities on the way.
They accepted the fact that many people still feel vulnerable during the ongoing pandemic. There are also the concerns that many people have over their “personal or financial circumstances.”
Their report mentioned that the time spent in lockdown may have seen players adopt new gambling routines and habits. Now that most lockdown restrictions have been lifted, changing those routines may not be an easy task. The Gambling Commission called on operators to try to identify such problems through their monitoring.
