Spain’s online gaming market grows 50% annually
Spain’s gambling ecosystem is strong on both fronts and is enjoying significant growth, while gambling loss rates remain low. Additionally, the latest report from the country’s gambling regulator shows that the online gaming sector is really taking off, suggesting that the industry is changing.
The Directorate General of Gaming Supervision (DGOJ, by its Spanish abbreviation) reported gross gaming revenue (GGR) of €304.9 million ($332.22 million) in the first quarter of this year. That’s an increase of 50.9% compared to the same period last year.
The figure was also down 2.7% from results in the final quarter of 2022. This isn't surprising as the fourth quarter is typically a slower growth time of the year due to the upcoming holidays.
Double-digit growth
Total GGR included €130.6 million ($142.3 million) in online sports betting, up 42.8% year-over-year.Online Casino Gaming grew 47.02% to close at €143.3 million ($156.13 million). Bingo and poker also grew, with their respective GGR increasing by 1.1% and 8.97% respectively.
The improvement in poker activity was driven by a 5.01% increase in activity from the previous quarter and a 24.92% increase from the same period last year. Compared to last year's fourth quarter, tournament poker increased by 8.42%, while cash games fell by 2.72%.
Despite the year-on-year improvement, the gaming segment recorded a month-on-month decline. It fell 7.65%, but retail sports betting also declined. The segment declined 11.21%
Online horse racing betting fell, down 5.92%. However, betting on “other” sports increased by 37.7%. The DGOJ has not yet elaborated on what this section means.
The casino sector increased by 0.64% compared with the fourth quarter of 2022, with a year-on-year deviation of 29.2%. This year-on-year increase occurred mainly in slot machine games (31.3%) and live roulette (32.2%).
GGR for sweepstakes and similar contests increased 730.4% during the quarter, with the annual change rate declining -4.9%. This segment shows an irregular pattern, with annual volatility of 99.5% in the first quarter of 2020, -7.6% in 2021, and -85.15% last year.
Player recharges and withdrawals increased by 22.7% and 15.68% respectively compared with the previous year. Compared with the previous quarter, deposits fell by 0.31% and withdrawals increased by 0.78%.
Regulatory reform will not hinder growth
Spain has implemented a number of reforms to its gambling industry in recent years, including tighter restrictions on marketing and sponsorships. Taking the latest data as a guide, two years after multiple changes, it is clear that the reforms have not hampered growth.
Marketing expenses for the quarter were €93.3 million ($101.66 million), including €11.8 million ($12.85 million) in affiliate marketing, €1.22 million ($133.0 million) in sponsorships and €50.2 million ($54.7 million) in promotional expenditures). Advertising costs 30.03 million euros ($33.01 million). Compared with the previous quarter, this expense decreased by 13.08%, which is equivalent to a decrease of 0.81% from the previous year.
Advertising business decreased by 22.8% month-on-month and 12.75% year-on-year respectively. Alliance expenditures decreased by 19.9% month-on-month and increased by 32.45% compared with the first quarter of last year.
Sponsorship expenditures decreased by 30.48% month-on-month and increased by 93.18% year-on-year. DGOJ's other target ad spend was down 3.26% from the fourth quarter and up 0.27% from the first quarter of 2022.
The average number of monthly active game accounts was 1,158,628, a month-on-month decrease of 2.57% and a year-on-year increase of 11.06%. The monthly average number of new account users was 111,390, a decrease of 15.78% month-on-month and a year-on-year decrease of 2.68%.
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Source: www.casino.org
