UK Gambling Commission backs bingo sector data progress
The Gambling Commission has held up Britain’s bingo sector as an example of how regulators and gambling operators can work together, after a joint data exercise helped narrow a dispute over participation figures.
Sarah Gardner, the Commission’s acting chief executive, told the Bingo Association’s annual general meeting on 7 May that the sector had chosen collaboration over confrontation during a period of heightened scrutiny for gambling in Britain.
“Sometimes in the past we have been told that as the regulator, we shouldn’t work in collaboration with those we regulate,” Gardner said. “That of course is not a view the Commission has ever taken.”
The speech, delivered as Bingo Association chief executive Miles Baron prepares to step down, set out a clear message: the Commission sees bingo as a relatively constructive partner, but one still facing new challenges, particularly around gaming machine compliance, alongside increased regulatory focus on illegal gambling.
Participation gap narrows
A central theme of Gardner’s address was the Gambling Survey for Great Britain, the Commission’s flagship evidence programme. The Bingo Association had raised concerns after the survey’s headline participation figure appeared to sit well above the trade body’s own estimates from club admission data.
Gardner said the two sides worked together to add a new question to the survey, aimed at identifying where people were playing bingo.
“In 2024 the GSGB stated 3.3 per cent of adults aged 18 and over had played bingo,” she said. “Crucially though, with the data from the new question, we have found the GSGB estimates of those people playing bingo in traditional bingo clubs like the ones many of you run (1.2 per cent) is much more closely aligned with the Bingo Association’s own estimates calculated from admissions data into those premises, which is 1 per cent.”
Bingo is played across a wide range of venues, from traditional clubs to holiday parks, social clubs and newer event-led formats. Earlier Commission work found that methodological differences largely explained the initial gap, with the GSGB capturing a broader understanding of bingo than the Bingo Association’s club-focused records.
Gardner said the regulator would retain the new question and continue working with the sector as the sample size grows. “Working together, rather than retreating to the entrenchments, means we can build a shared understanding instead of creating mistrust,” she said.
Machines remain central to bingo finances
The speech also underlined the extent to which bingo premises depend on gaming machines. Gardner said Commission industry statistics for 2024/25 showed total bingo gross gambling yield of £816m (€942m), around 5 per cent of the wider gambling industry’s £16.8bn (€19.4bn).
Of that, non-remote bingo generated £650m (€751m), while remote bingo accounted for £166m (€192m). Gardner added that “two-thirds of non-remote Bingo GGY was from gaming machines in venues and 35 per cent from Bingo games”.
That balance explains why the Commission’s gaming machines consultation is closely watched by the sector. Gardner confirmed that from 29 July 2026, non-remote operators must immediately remove machines if told by the Commission that manufacture, supply, installation, adaptation, maintenance or repair was not carried out under the proper technical operating licence. The same will apply where machines fail to meet technical standards.
“We expect this change will streamline processes and ensure non-compliant machines are swiftly removed from premises, a benefit to consumers and operators,” she said.
The rest of the consultation response is expected this summer.
Online interest rises
While the Commission’s speech focused heavily on land-based bingo, data from Blask, a market intelligence and analytics platform specialising in online gambling data, points to rising digital interest. Blask ranks online bingo fourth among nine online gambling verticals in terms of year-on-year growth, behind prediction markets, online casino, and racing. Blask estimates bingo interest rose 32 per cent year on year and 28 per cent month on month.
The data suggests that bingo remains smaller than larger online categories such as lottery, fantasy, online casino and online betting, but is showing stronger momentum than its size alone might imply.
Gardner also pointed to the Commission’s new business plan and confirmed that £26m (€30m) in government funding over three years would support work against illegal gambling, including land-based activity. The comments also come as the Commission expects new powers for English councils to influence gambling licensing decisions, including through Gambling Impact Assessments, to pass into law as part of a broader post-review reform agenda.
“One area it will allow us to invest in, arguably for the first time in a serious way, is addressing land-based illegal gambling,” she said. “I know that is something this sector takes extremely seriously, the Commission does too.”
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