Football teams in Spain ask for sports betting share
Football clubs from lower divisions in Spain are asking for their share of economic benefits from sports betting.
Spain.- Sports betting is one of the most profitable businesses in Spain, and second and third division football clubs in the territory are seeking economic benefits from that. ProLiga, an association that represents more than 250 teams in Spain, has requested a review of the percentage that they obtain from bets.
ProLiga argues that second and third division teams must receive contributions from sports betting operations. The association brought its claim to the Ombudsman, based on the May 2011 Law on gambling regulations. They argue that in those regulations they establish a percentage for the development of second division clubs.
ProLiga also emphasises that its only interest is to improve players’ contracts and comply with labour obligations. They also want to strengthen the implementation of compliance and integrity programs within its structures.
On the other hand, the teams informed the Higher Sports Council (CSD) about their request to the Ombudsman. and asked for the council’s support in order to reinforce the claim.
DGOJ’s figures
According to gambling regulator, the Dirección General de Ordenación del Juego (DGOJ), GGR for the second quarter was US$198 million. The figure represents a year-on-year increase of 6.69%, but a 7.85% setback when compared to the first quarter.
Online sports betting revenue declines in Q2
Online gaming operators generated €178.4 million, which represents a 6.7% rise from the same period in 2018. However, the DGOJ also said that figure is also a 7.9% decrease from the first quarter of the current year.
The sports betting segment fell 1.3% to €86.5 million year-on-year and 15% from the first quarter. Despite the double-digit figure fall from the previous quarter, the sports betting vertical managed to maintain relatively similar results from the FIFA World Cup in 2018 and the FIFA Women’s World Cup in 2019, both held in the same period. However, pre-match sports betting revenue decreased 26.2% and in-play betting decreased 18.5% in Spain.
