From Streaming to Gaming: How UK Online Entertainment Companies Invest in Their Future
The UK’s online entertainment economy is moving into a new phase.
Streaming platforms and online gambling operators, two sectors that rarely shared an analyst’s report a decade ago, now compete for the same consumer time and discretionary spend, and are responding with strikingly similar strategies.
Both are directing capital into technology, content, and customer retention, and both are preparing for closer regulatory oversight. The figures behind each sector show why the stakes are rising.
Two Sectors Competing for the Same Attention
Streaming has completed its shift from challenger to household default.
As of February 2026, two-thirds of UK households subscribe to at least one of Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, or Disney+, according to Ofcom’s 2025 Media Nations report. The same report found that 85% of people now use an on-demand service each month, compared with 67% who watch live television.
Online gambling has posted a parallel growth story.
The remote sector covering casino, betting, and bingo generated £7.8 billion in Gross Gambling Yield in the financial year from April 2024 to March 2025, an increase of more than £900 million year-on-year, according to UK Gambling Commission figures published in November 2025.
Online casino games contributed £5 billion of that total, with slots accounting for £4.2 billion. Established brands such as NetBet, which operates in the UK under a Gambling Commission remote licence, illustrate how international operators have built long-term positions in the regulated British market.
Streaming Platforms Spend to Hold Their Ground
The financial results behind streaming’s growth explain the confidence. Netflix UK reported a pre-tax profit of £60.6 million in 2023, up from £34.1 million the previous year, with revenue rising from £1.54 billion to £1.66 billion, according to Companies House filings reported in October 2024.
The company attributed part of that performance to a 7% rise in subscriber numbers following its crackdown on password sharing.
Domestic broadcasters are matching that ambition. ITVX recorded 14.3 million monthly active users and more than 1.7 billion streaming hours by March 2025, according to ITV plc’s 2025 full-year results. The broadcaster is targeting £750 million in digital revenues and 20 million users by 2026, supported by more than £800 million in planned investment.
Partnerships are becoming part of the playbook too. Disney+ and ITVX launched a content-sharing arrangement in July 2025, and in February 2026, ITV extended the deal to bring selected Disney+ titles into ITV1’s peak linear schedule, a sign that competitors increasingly see value in pooling audiences.
Regulation Tightens on Both Fronts
Growth has arrived alongside heavier oversight. In February 2026, the government introduced secondary legislation under the Media Act 2024, bringing streaming platforms with more than 500,000 UK users, including Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, Disney+, ITVX, and Channel 4, under enhanced Ofcom regulation for the first time.
The gambling sector is under similar pressure.
From April 2025, a statutory levy replaced the previous voluntary contributions system, directing funds toward gambling harm research, prevention, and treatment. Enforcement activity has also intensified.
The number of licensed gambling operators in Great Britain stood at 2,179 as of 31 March 2025, a 3.7% decrease on the prior year, according to the UKGC. Beyond the regulator, the Premier League’s voluntary ban on front-of-shirt gambling sponsorships is set to be fully implemented by the end of the 2025/26 season.
Investment Signals Point in the Same Direction
Where the money is going tells a consistent story.
In January 2025, Rank Group completed a refurbishment of its Grosvenor venues, integrating touch-screen gaming tables, and in March 2025, Entain opened a new live casino studio in London. Streaming platforms, meanwhile, are channeling budgets into personalisation technology and mobile-first product design.
Across both sectors, the emphasis has shifted from acquiring new customers toward retaining existing ones through engagement-led models. With Ofcom expanding its remit over streaming and the UKGC tightening enforcement, UK online entertainment companies appear to be building for a future in which regulatory readiness and product quality with a focus on purpose-built solutions, rather than raw customer acquisition, decide who stays ahead.
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