UK spending on slot machines

How much do people spend on slot machines in the UK each year?

The most reliable figure is for online slots. The Gambling Commission's industry statistics for April 2025 to March 2026 put the gross gambling yield (GGY) from online slots at £4.8 billion. GGY is the amount players staked minus the amount they won back, so it is the real cost to players, and the operators' revenue before tax and running costs.

Land-based machines are reported differently. The Commission gives a combined land-based GGY of £4.9 billion for arcades, betting shops, bingo and casinos, but that covers everything those venues offer (counter betting, bingo tickets and table games too), not just machines. Sector reports give machine figures for some venues, which we set out below. Put together, the money people in Great Britain lose on slot-style machines and games each year runs well beyond £5 billion.

What "spend" means in UK slot statistics

Three different numbers get called "spend", and mixing them up leads to wildly different headlines.

Official statistics use GGY because it measures what actually changes hands. Turnover is much larger, because the same money is staked again and again: a £20 deposit can generate £100 or more of stakes in one session. So a headline about "billions staked" and one about "billions lost" can both be right about the same games.

As an illustration only: if the average online slot returned 96%, then £4.8 billion of GGY would correspond to roughly £120 billion of stakes, because 4% of £120 billion is £4.8 billion. The real average RTP across all play is not published in the figures we used, so treat this as a sense of scale. Our RTP explainer and house edge guide show the same sum game by game.

UK slot spending by sector

The headline figures for 2025–26 come from the Commission's industry statistics annual report (opens in a new tab), summarised in its September 2026 news release (opens in a new tab). The arcade and FEC figures are from the Commission's earlier statistics as reported by the trade press in December 2024. The 2018 FOBT figure comes from a Commission bulletin on the B2 stake change.

Online slots vs fruit machines: where the money goes

Online slots are now the single largest slot product. At £4.8 billion, they account for most of the £5.7 billion lost on online casino games, and more than a quarter of all gambling GGY in Britain once lotteries are excluded (£4.8bn of £13.2bn).

On land, the money is concentrated in the higher-stake machines. In adult gaming centres, Category B3 machines (£2 maximum stake, £500 maximum prize) produced £462.93 million in 2023–24, more than three times the £141.70 million from Category C machines (£1 stake, £100 prize), even though B3 machines may make up only 20% of the machines in those venues. The pattern is the same one seen before 2019 in betting shops, when B2 machines with stakes of up to £100 a spin produced £1.78 billion in 2018. Our UK slot machine categories page lists every limit.

How much does the average person spend on slots?

There is no reliable official "average spend per slot player", and dividing the totals by a headcount gives misleading results. The Commission reported 25.7 million active online accounts at the end of the period, but one person often holds several accounts, and most accounts are used for betting or lotteries rather than slots. Losses are also unevenly spread: some players lose very little in a year while others lose a great deal, so an average would describe hardly anyone.

A more useful question is what your own play costs. That you can work out exactly, using the RTP and your stake. Here is the long-run average cost of different sessions at a 96% RTP:

Because UK online slots take at least 2.5 seconds per spin, 1,000 spins is at least 42 minutes of play. Results in any one session can be far worse than these averages. Our cost per hour and how long £100 lasts pages work through more cases.

Who gets the money players spend on slots?

Players don't pay tax on gambling winnings in the UK; the duties fall on operators and are calculated on their profits. Since 1 April 2026, Remote Gaming Duty on online casino games, including slots, has been 40%, up from 21%, according to HMRC's gambling duty changes (opens in a new tab). Land-based machines pay Machine Games Duty at 5%, 20% or 25% of net takings depending on the cost to play. A statutory levy, 1.1% for online operators, funds research, prevention and treatment.

Read remote gaming duty and slots, Machine Games Duty and tax on slot winnings for detail.

How to see how much you spend on slot machines

1. Look at the net position display on any UK online slot; it shows your wins minus stakes for the current session and has been required since 31 October 2021.
2. Open your casino account history and filter by casino or slots for a month or a year.
3. Add up deposits minus withdrawals over the same period: that is your actual cost.
4. Set a deposit limit; UK operators must prompt you to set a financial limit before your first deposit, a rule in force since 31 October 2025.
5. For land-based play, set a cash budget before you go in and leave cards at home: debit cards still can't be used directly on gaming machines.
6. If the figure worries you, use a time-out, GAMSTOP or venue self-exclusion, and talk to the National Gambling Helpline on 0808 8020 133.

More help: how to set a limit on slots, slot session limits and signs slot play is becoming a problem.

Myths about slot machine spending in the UK

• "Most of the money staked is lost." No: most of each stake is paid back over time. GGY is a few per cent of turnover on a typical online slot, but repeated play turns that few per cent into real losses.
• "Big recorded wins mean players are ahead overall." GGY is what's left after every win, including the large ones, has been paid. As a group, players are always behind.
• "Machines in pubs make the most money." Category C pub machines have a £1 stake; higher-stake B3 machines in arcades and betting shops produce far more GGY.
• "Spending more increases your chance of being ahead." Higher stakes and longer sessions increase expected losses in direct proportion.

Our slot machine myths guide covers more beliefs that don't hold up.

If you play slots online

Treat slots as paid entertainment and decide your spend in advance. If you do choose to play online, our partner casinos are licensed in Great Britain and each offers deposit limits and time-outs. Welcome offers: PlayOJO gives 80 free spins on Big Bass Bonanza at 10p each with no wagering (18+, new UK customers excluding Northern Ireland, first deposit of at least £10); Coral gives 100 free spins at 10p on selected games after you deposit and bet £10 or more on slots (1 October 2026 to 1 February 2027, valid 7 days, some deposit methods excluded); Ladbrokes gives 50 free spins a day for 10 days, up to 500, after you deposit and spend £10 on slots, 10p each, no wagering. 18+ and terms apply. Full details are on our casinos page.

18+. Gambling should be entertainment that costs money, not a way to make it. Decide a budget before you play: plan a slot budget. Free, confidential help: National Gambling Helpline 0808 8020 133.