Why London startups are targeting iGaming analytics

iGaming has emerged as a practical and commercially mature market for startups building data-led products in the capital.

This is an industry that’s high-volume, consumer-facing and tightly regulated. In essence, it means businesses must base their decisions on information that can be clearly explained and defended. Brand investment still matters, for sure. But it no longer protects margins when acquisition costs rise or player behaviour changes quickly. Analytics, then, has become a core operational tool. The data affects risk management, retention and long-term value.

Small changes move large sums

The scale of the UK gambling market explains why analytics has become central now. Gambling Commission figures place Great Britain’s gross gambling yield at around £16.8bn, with remote gambling accounting for a significant share of that total. Online casino activity alone runs into the billions each year. Slot games dominate. In September 2025, for example, there were 8 billion bets placed on slots compared to 232 million bets on other casino games.

Due to the market size, marginal changes have material consequences. Small improvements in retention, payout efficiency or payment friction can mean a difference of millions in revenue. Operators increasingly want clear, defensible answers to practical questions:

• Which players are drifting into inactivity, and at what point?
• Where are withdrawals slowing down?
• Which games drive short-term volume but weaken lifetime value?

Analytics platforms that work out these patterns early are great commercially.

Why London is a natural base

London’s advantage is practical. The capital is Europe’s largest equity market and fifth behind US, China, Japan and India. And because it’s a tightly governed sector, being in London means conversations can be had.  For analytics startups specifically, London has faster feedback loops. And there are also fewer blind spots in these regulation-heavy buying environments.

What operators now expect from analytics platforms

It’s not about chasing novelty. The idea is a simple one: turning raw behaviour data into a decision that can be acted on quickly and explained clearly.

Included in this are:

• Monitoring changes in play patterns.
• Tracking value across cohorts.
• Flagging withdrawal delays.
• Modelling lifetime value (at the level of individual behaviour rather than broad averages).

Crucially, adoption depends on whether trading, CRM and compliance teams can work from the same version of the data.

Regulation makes evidence commercially valuable

Regulation is part of the buying logic. UK oversight increasingly rewards operators. The ones that can document decisions, demonstrate consistency and explain why specific actions were taken when player behaviour changed do well.

Gaps in governance or data structure rarely remain hidden for long in iGaming. It’s a place where monitoring is continuous and scrutiny is routine.

If analytics can support commercial decisions as well as regulatory defence, they’re significantly more valuable.

Execution still separates winners from survivors

Demand alone doesn’t guarantee success. In iGaming analytics, execution is in integration timelines, regulatory review and procurement realities. Sometimes, a tool that seems impressive in isolation might struggle when real-world constraints become apparent.