The Ritz Club helped define London’s early gambling image — discreet, refined, and anchored in tradition — but that only tells part of the story.
While the city’s gambling past played out behind velvet ropes and polished tables, the present is being shaped elsewhere, in offices and data centers, by firms most people never see.
What’s emerging is not just another gambling market, but a full-scale infrastructure network positioning London at the center of a global iGaming economy.
UK online gambling set to hit €13.26B
A big part of that momentum is coming from slots. In the last quarter alone, they pulled in £689million — an 11% jump from the year before.
It was accompanied by 23.4billion spins and a 6% rise in active monthly accounts, now averaging 4.5 million.
Players are showing up more often, and the numbers suggest they’re returning to platforms that make the process faster, simpler, and more rewarding.
The sites on the best fast withdrawal casino list UK have infrastructure that is built for instant access, fast payouts, and all popular payment options.
That level of activity has caught the regulator’s eye, with recent UKGC reports offering a clearer look at what’s shifting under the surface.
Five years of player data, one growing pattern
Fresh reporting from the UK’s gambling regulator confirms what the broader numbers have been hinting at for a while.
Volume is climbing steadily, but so is the complexity of user behavior.
Between January and March this year, online gambling in Britain generated £1.45billion in gross yield, up 7% from the same period in 2024.
Total bets and spins rose to 25.2billion, a 5% increase year-on-year, while the number of monthly active accounts edged up to 13.5million.
Real event betting also posted gains, with revenue growing 5% to £596million.
That came despite a slight dip in participation as betting volume dropped by 1%, and monthly actives slipped 2%, suggesting heavier engagement among fewer users.
Looking at the longer arc, the market’s upward curve remains intact.
Technavio now projects UK gambling to grow at a CAGR of 5.4% through 2029, adding over £3billion in value during that span.
Most of that growth is still expected to come from the online side, particularly as platforms focus less on variety for its own sake, and more on tailored delivery and performance.
The infrastructure that keeps London in play
The latest UKGC figures show online gambling pulling in a record £1.54billion in Q4 2024, with the sector now holding more than 40% of the UK’s total GGY since 2020.
Slots made up nearly half that figure, showing sustained demand even in a heavily regulated environment.
At the same time, the number of licensed remote operators has decreased slightly, from 242 to 226, suggesting that while overall activity is up, competition is tightening and operators with the best tech and user experience are pulling ahead.
London’s infrastructure gives it an edge here: proximity to top-tier fintech, direct access to talent, and a favorable legal framework for both domestic and international operations.
That edge shows in how the capital attracts foreign investment.
In 2024 alone, iGaming companies headquartered in or expanding into London received £380million in new funding, according to data aggregated by PitchBook.
Much of it went into backend automation, payment rails, and platform scalability — less about flashy branding, more about market share.
How B2B companies are driving the market
With consumer-facing platforms getting the spotlight, what often gets missed is the backend machinery keeping everything running — aggregation tech, compliance automation, CRM engines, and payment orchestration.
London-based firms like EveryMatrix, GBG, and Trustly’s UK operations are increasingly serving global clients, not just local operators.
According to recent industry data, B2B gambling services exported from the UK generated over £600million in 2024, with a strong upward forecast as more jurisdictions tighten standards and outsource infrastructure.
Talent concentration and why it’s turning London into iGaming’s operating core
For all the tech and regulation shaping iGaming, it’s people who keep the engine running, and London has become the place to find them.
From product managers and compliance leads to CRM teams and full-stack developers, the city is home to thousands of professionals who already know how to build, run, and scale gambling platforms.
That kind of talent density creates real momentum. New teams can launch faster, strategies adapt quicker, and problems get solved without pulling in outside help.
It helps that London’s fintech sector shares so much DNA with gambling tech.
The same payment systems, KYC processes, and risk tools apply across both industries.
And with more firms moving their operational hubs into the capital, the overlap is only getting stronger.
Add to that a steady stream of graduates feeding into the system, and it’s clear why so many iGaming companies are putting down roots here, not just to sell, but to run the show.
Picture credit: Free to use from Unsplash
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