Services Sector Growth Underpinned by Gaming Growth

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UK services output rose 0.3% in November 2025, according to the Office for National Statistics, confirming the economy's largest engine is still doing most of the heavy lifting.

Services accounted for 81% of total output and 83% of employment in July to September 2025, meaning modest shifts in consumer-facing activity can quickly show up in the wider growth picture.

Early-2026 survey data points to a firmer start to the year for the sector, with the S&P Global flash UK services PMI rising to 54.3 in January, consistent with expansion and stronger momentum than late 2025.

Services sector expansion is aided by a solid leisure component, with data confirming gaming and gambling activities are holding up in the wake of recent tax and regulatory burden increases.

In the online casino market, comparison platforms now play a larger role in how consumers navigate available operators, including those tested by Casino.org, as regulatory and compliance standards continue to tighten.

The sector is significant: the gambling industry’s gross gambling yield in Great Britain rose to £16.8bn in the year to March 2025, up 7.3% on the prior year, with the regulator pointing to online-led growth as a key driver.

Remote casino, betting and bingo generated £7.8bn, and online casinos accounted for £5.0bn. This includes £4.2bn from online slots, underlining how digital channels now carry a large share of sector value.

More timely operator indicators show online total gross gambling yield in July to September 2025 at £1.42bn, up 8% year on year, with growth attributed mainly to real-event betting and slots.

That same quarter showed a mixed engagement picture, with total bets and spins rising to 26.1bn while average monthly active accounts fell to around 12m, suggesting higher intensity of play among a smaller active base.

Offline footprints continue to shrink in key segments, with the Gambling Commission reporting 5,789 betting shops and 8,219 total premises in Great Britain in April to June 2025, reinforcing the longer drift from bricks-and-mortar to remote play.

Regulatory changes are also feeding into product design, with online slots stake limits set at £5 for adults from 9 April 2025 and £2 for 18–24s from 21 May 2025, a shift intended to reduce harm but also likely to influence yield composition over time.

Alongside gambling, the broader “gaming” economy in the UK also spans video games, where industry bodies estimate consumers spent £7.6bn on video games in 2024 after years of growth in digital distribution and mobile-led spending.

UKIE-linked analysis also frames games as a meaningful services export and creative industry input, with one sector briefing estimating £6bn in annual GVA and more than 73,000 jobs supported across the video games industry.

In macro terms, services growth is still being described as uneven beneath the headline, with the January PMI coverage pointing to improved demand and confidence while also flagging persistent cost pressures and softer employment dynamics in parts of the sector.

The upshot is that gaming and gambling-related activity can add incremental lift inside services through digital delivery, leisure spending and tech-enabled distribution, even while the sector’s internal mix shifts towards online channels and tighter rules reshape how revenues are earned.