UK Lottery Drops to £843m GGY as iGaming Stays at £1.4bn

This follows a record £926m quarter but shows a slowdown. Ticket sales fell from £2.1bn to £1.97bn. Contributions to good causes dropped from £480m to £403m. The figures were released alongside the Gambling Survey for Great Britain, based on 5,884 adults.

Overall participation reached 48%, up from 46% in the previous wave. The change is small. It matches the same period in 2024, which shows stable demand, not growth. For operators, this means revenue is more likely to come from product mix and retention.

Lottery activity still makes up a large share of participation. Around 21% of respondents only played lottery products. When this group is removed, total participation drops to 27%. Participation is highest among those aged 55 to 64. Without lottery-only players, the 35 to 44 group becomes the most active.

Online activity remains the main channel, with 38% reporting online gambling, falling to 16% without lottery-only players. In-person participation stands at 27%, or 18% excluding lottery-only players, with similar patterns across ticket sales and scratchcards. For retail partners, this shows that footfall remains tied to lottery demand.

The data shows two different patterns in the market. Lottery supports reach and volume, while iGaming drives revenue. For operators and affiliates, growth depends less on new users and more on moving lottery-heavy audiences into higher-value segments.

TGJ Take

The UK market is not growing in terms of player numbers. The same group is split between lottery and higher-value products. Lottery still brings traffic, but most of those players do not move into betting or casino, which limits revenue. For operators, the focus should be on conversion. Moving lottery players into iGaming matters more than trying to bring in new users. Affiliates should check where their traffic goes, as lottery-focused audiences tend to generate lower value unless they convert.