2026
9
UK Casinos Market Report 2026
2026-04-27T14:01:46+00:00
REP86A10DEE_6714_45DA_A10D_EE671445DA35
2195
192963
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Report
en_GB
In-person and online casino participation remains a low priority for UK adults compared to other out-of-home or at-home leisure activities. Ongoing legislative reforms, like increased gaming machine allowances and permittance…
UK
Gambling
simple

UK Casinos Market Report 2026

"Casinos must lower their barriers to entry by repositioning themselves as multi-entertainment destinations to widen their appeal beyond their core gambling consumers."

Yogita Burke, Cross-category Research Analyst

Yogita Burke, Cross-category Research Analyst

In-person and online casino participation remains a low priority for UK adults compared to other out-of-home or at-home leisure activities. Ongoing legislative reforms, like increased gaming machine allowances and permittance of real-time betting, aim to address outdated restrictions and inconsistencies to modernise land-based casinos and compete with remote gambling. However, disinterest in gambling among the general population, as well as preference for playing online among those who do enjoy casino games are the key barriers to in-person casino visits. Positioning casinos as broader leisure destinations through ‘softer’ casino branding can appeal to wider audiences and better compete with the wider leisure market.

One of the biggest challenges facing the casino market is the upcoming increase in Remote Gaming Duty. This combined with several other new regulations, including limits on bonus wagering and introduction of stakes limits for online slots, will put significant pressure on profit margins. The mixed-product promotion ban will prevent operators from cross-selling, thereby hindering their ability to attract new players.

Strong demand for loyalty rewards schemes highlights the need for casino operators to actively promote them to boost awareness and sign-ups. Casinos can expand ways to earn reward points throughout their ecosystem, beyond gaming, or via external business partnerships.

This Report Looks at the Following Areas:

  • Overview of the casino market, including regulatory changes impacting land-based and online operators
  • Casino player behaviour, including opportunities to attract over-65s and drive repeat visits
  • Casino player participation in activities at venues, with a focus on loyalty reward schemes
  • Strategies to boost casino’s appeal and branding opportunities

Market Definitions

This report focuses on land-based and online casinos, and the gambling activities they offer. Entertainment and food and drink provided by land-based casinos are also considered.

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  1. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

    • What you need to know
    • Outlook for the casino market
    • Opportunities
    • Now: increase visit value and retention by modernising and actively promoting loyalty schemes
    • Next 1-3 years: acquire new audiences by repositioning casinos as social, multi-entertainment venues
    • Casino rebranding opportunities
    • Next 2-5 years: unlock daytime growth by repositioning casinos for the growing over-65 population
  2. THE MARKET

    • Snapshot – market size and forecast
    • Fragile consumer financial confidence will have minimal impact on casinos
    • Graph 1: the financial confidence index, 2017-26
    • Regulatory changes will impact online and multi-channel casino operators, but protect players
    • Regulatory changes will benefit land-based casinos
    • Social entertainment gaming has trended upwards
    • Graph 2: played a social entertainment game once/more than once a month in the past month, February 2022-January 2026
    • Market size and forecast
    • Steady rise in casino gaming expenditure
    • Graph 3: forecasted consumer expenditure on casino gaming, 2019/20-2030/31*
    • Land-based casinos see spending growth from expanded offerings
    • Graph 4: forecasted consumer expenditure on land-based casino gaming, 2019/20-2030/31*
    • Online casino spending plateaus amid regulatory changes
    • Graph 5: forecasted consumer expenditure on remote casino gaming, 2019/20-2030/31*
  3. THE CONSUMER

    • Casino play
    • Casino gaming is a low-priority leisure activity
    • Graph 6: casino gaming participation in the last 12 months, 2024 and 2026
    • Over-65s feel overlooked by casinos
    • Graph 7: agreement with “I think casinos target my age group”, by age group, 2026
    • Entice casino players back with free credits
    • In-person casino gaming and non-gaming activities
    • Dining, drinks and live sports have grown in popularity
    • Graph 8: participation in selected non-gaming activities at casinos, 2021-26
    • Attract and retain casino visitors with reward schemes
    • Promote casino loyalty programs with more chances to earn points
    • Partnership opportunities for casino reward schemes
    • Slot machines’ popularity surges as other casino gaming declines
    • Graph 9: participation in gaming activities at casinos, 2021-26
    • Strike the right balance between familiar favourites and new slots
    • Casino branding opportunities
    • Casinos branded as multi-entertainment venues have potential to boost visitors
    • Attract younger demographics with multi-entertainment branding
    • Graph 10: more likely to visit a casino that is branded as a multi-entertainment venue than a standard casino, by generation, 2026
    • Capture younger generations’ attention with social entertainment games
    • Reposition casinos as fun, sociable destinations
    • Graph 11: participation in casino visits and/or played social entertainment games, by generation, 2026
    • Casinos have potential to become sports fan hubs
    • Rebrand casinos as premier sports-viewing destinations
    • Make casinos an experiential dining destination
    • Reposition casinos as dining destinations
    • Integrate live entertainment into casino branding
    • Graph 12: casino visitors who have watched live entertainment, 2021-26
    • Alternative casino concepts
  4. INNOVATION AND COMPETITIVE STRATEGIES

    • Genting Casinos aims for wider audiences
    • Destination dining
    • US brand makes UK land-based casino debut
    • Casinos launch social spaces with entertainment gaming
    • Land-based casinos launch sports betting following reforms
  5. APPENDIX

    • UK population forecast by age group
    • Graph 13: population, by age, 2004-67
    • Market definition
    • The market
    • Forecast methodology
    • Forecast methodology – fan chart
    • Market size and forecast on casino gaming
    • Market size and forecast on land-based casino gaming
    • Market size and forecast on online casino gaming
    • Casino gaming market forecast and prediction intervals
    • Land-based casino gaming market forecast and prediction intervals
    • Online casino gaming market forecast and prediction intervals
    • The consumer
    • Consumer research questions
    • Consumer research methodology
    • UK generation groups
    • Other data source methodologies
    • Mintel Spark
    • Snoop SpendMapper methodology
    • Abbreviations

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