Return of The King (And Queen): Football to The Rescue as GGR Plunges to Monthly Low

With the UK’s Gross Gambling Revenue (GGR) falling by almost 14 per cent in the most recent certified month, the return of the Beautiful Game could not have come a kick too soon.

According to latest stats released by the regulatory UK Gambling Commission (GC), the betting yield in Great Britain dropped by 13.6 per cent, month-on-month, in June.

Online GGR in the month was £370.2 million (US$447m/€439m), a fall of 13.2 per cent compared to May — and a drop of 20 per cent over January, which has scored the highest monthly yield this year to date.

The data was mined from surveying 80 per cent of the nation’s iGaming market and 85 per cent of traditional retail bookies.

Revenue from high street bookies fell 5.6 per cent to £181.7 million (US$219.4m/€215.5m).

But, with the English Premier League kicking off its new season and the recent brilliant efflorescence of women’s professional soccer, it’s a cert that football—which dominates sports betting—will boost stumbling fortunes.

And analysts would be foolish to discount this momentum being carried to crescendo by the Big One, the world’s premier sporting event, World Cup Qatar scheduled for November 21-December 18 later this year.

Returning to the reality of June, esports was the only action within the iGaming realm where the yield was up: by just over 38 per cent to £924,300 (US$1.11m/€1.09m).

According to the commission, slots were down 7.4 per cent to £179.1 million (US$216.2m/€212.4m), Poker declined to £5.7 million (US$6.88m/€6.76m) and virtual sports betting dropped to £3.8 million (US$4.58m/€4.5m).

A more forensic take on high street bookies reveals a mixed picture of hard bets up seven per cent to £62.4 million (US$75.3m/€74m) but yield from terminals, falling by over a quarter to just under £25 million (US$30.18m/€29.65m), nixing any gains.

On a wider comparison basis, quarter by quarter, Q2 compared to Q1, GGR remained fundamentally unchanged at £1.2 billion (US$1.44bn/€1.42bn).

Meanwhile, amid the growing crisis in the wider national economy, the commission urged all operators to maintain their “extra vigilance” and continue to protect punters with their responsible gambling controls and measures.

There may be storms ahead.

But we’ll always have the Beautiful Game.