Further tightening impacts the metrics

After close to a full year of traveling and social gathering restrictions, the UK Gambling Commission (UKGC) is finally ready to publish its findings. Yet, after reading the reports. There is not that much of a surprise or out-of-this-world numbers to gasp at. In fact, to be completely honest, the information conveyed by the government body was quite expected. However, in our mind, what the organization is trying to communicate is that things are far from over and back to normal. Also worth pointing out is that the accumulated data stretch between March to December. And are, as such, almost representing the last year entirely. Meaning, there will be more reports coming from the organization as 2021 rolls on with its own ups and downs.

December a busy month

Typically, the month of December does come with a slight increase in online activities across the board. And, online casino operations are no exception. So, on a strict December, month-on-month comparison, the online account, either in the creation or in live use, rose by 6%. At the same time, the bets increased by 12%. Additionally, the gross gambling yield (GGY) came in on an impressive 30%. Where healthy margins in real events say to contribute most.

Plus, the simple fact is that more players try out or continue to play online slots and other related products. And if we break it down into more manageable components, it looks something like this. Video slot GGY up by 13%, close to £200 Million, sports bets also up, 12% £6 Billion. Where the video slot sessions over 1 hour rose by 11%, while the average session time sank to around 21.5 minutes.

Nothing new and the same message remains

Indeed, as there are no real surprises reported from the watchdog, the message remains the same. Basically, the UKGC says that the operators need to keep responsible gambling under control and monitor the situations even closer. However, what they include this time is that there will be an influx of first-time online casino players as the restrictions continue. In essence, the safe and secure platform mantra needs to find an even bigger place amongst the UK-facing operations. All in all, if all keep reminding each other that the hurdle is still a real thing and very much active, the end result will come out as positive as we slowly return to normal.