The UK has always had a soft spot for gambling, with the thrill of a potentially huge win appealing to much of the population. About 48% of people in the UK participate in gambling in some capacity, whether they play the
- The National Lottery debut in the UK
- How the iGaming industry is performing
- How many people in the UK participate in iGaming?
- How much revenue does iGaming generate?
- What forms of iGaming are most popular?
- How the lottery industry is performing
- How many people play the lottery?
- What types of lotteries are there?
- How much revenue does the lottery generate?
- The verdict: the UK National Lottery is still going strong
The National Lottery debut in the UK
In 1994, the UK National
It’s an unsurprising question; after all, in the last few years, the only things gambling-related seem to do with online casinos or sports betting.
Countless articles have been pumped out by media outlets about their popularity, legal restrictions (or lack thereof), what platforms are the most popular, and the ever-present debate of whether gambling is socially or ethically responsible.
👀 The lottery seems to have slipped from the mainstream in all this gambling noise. But just because something isn’t making news doesn’t mean it’s inconsequential.
Join us as we explore the numbers, which paint a clear, non-subjective picture of how both iGaming and the lottery are performing to see if there’s any truth to the notion that the lottery is dying.
How the iGaming industry is performing
Access to online gambling started in the 1990s, and in 2005, the UK revisited its gambling laws to allow and better regulate online gambling options. In these early days, the activity wasn’t nearly as popular or lucrative as it is today.
It’s only more recently that this form of gambling has taken off and, unsurprisingly, reached a new height during the pandemic when land-based casinos were shut down.
How many people in the UK participate in iGaming?
Today, 16% of the UK population takes part in some form of online gambling, which can range from casino games and bingo to sports and horserace betting.
How much revenue does iGaming generate?
The number of people playing online has helped the iGaming industry become highly lucrative, bringing in a staggering revenue of £6.4 billion in 2023.
The year before, marking the tail end of the pandemic, generated £6.9 billion in 2021-2022, which means that we’re starting to see the anticipated slowdown in revenue in a post-COVID world. Even with the post-pandemic slowdown in mind, the online gaming industry is still thriving.
What forms of iGaming are most popular?
Of the various forms of online gambling available to UK residents, casino games are the biggest revenue driver, responsible for £3.9 billion of all revenue (£3 billion of this can be attributed to slot games) in 2022.
This revenue remains comparable to the 2019-2020 fiscal year when online casinos generated £3.23 billion, and the 2020-2021 year, which generated £4.04 billion – indicating that online casinos remain strong players in the overall gambling scene.
In 2022, online sportsbooks generated another £2.4 billion for the gaming industry, making this form of iGaming another popular and lucrative one.
How the lottery industry is performing
Since its inception in 1994, the UK Lottery has become highly profitable and popular – and thus a major player in the UK gambling scene. Here is how the industry has performed in recent years.
How many people play the lottery?
In 2023, 27.6% of the UK participated in the lottery. This percentage is up from the previous two years, which were 27.2% in 2022 and 25.9% in 2021. This growth indicates a slow return to the usual numbers after a fall from 29.3% in 2020.
What types of lotteries are there?
People can participate in the lottery in a few different ways within the UK, with the UK National Lottery (or, as it’s simply known, the Lotto) and EuroMillions offering a range of playing options.
👉 The most popular of these options include scratchcards and, of course, the classic lotto, where players select the numbers for their tickets or choose at random.
With the question of whether iGaming is hurting the lottery industry, another important element to consider is that the lottery can be played online, and 22% of lottery participants play this way, according to the Gambling Commission.
How much revenue does the lottery generate?
In the 2022-23 fiscal year, the UK National Lottery generated £8.19 billion in sales. The money goes towards prizes and jackpots for players, the National Lottery itself, and a range of projects relating to various charitable causes and social endeavours.
The verdict: the UK National Lottery is still going strong
Although iGaming has had an astronomical rise in popularity, it hasn’t hindered the success or ongoing popularity of the lottery in the UK. Instead, the rise and fall of each gambling form’s participation numbers seem to be linked to external factors – like the pandemic – and not to the performance of the other.
Both forms of gambling were affected by the pandemic, albeit in different ways, but both appear to be levelling out to more consistent, steady growth. The lottery’s embrace of online gaming options has also given it an edge in remaining relevant to players.
It seems to have helped the two forms of gambling complement one another, rather than one form outshining the other and it appears that there’s room for multiple forms of gambling to perform well in the UK gambling industry, and for both to grow in popularity and revenue.