Spain: Online gaming up almost 3 points

Online gross gaming revenues reached US$241m in the third quarter of 2020 and marketing expenses increased as the ban was lifted.

Spain.- Gross gaming revenues (GGR) for online gaming in Spain totalled US$241m (€197.2m) in the third quarter of 2020, which is 5.59 per cent less than in the previous quarter but 2.83 per cent up on the same period in 2019.

The Spanish gaming regulator, the Dirección General de Ordenación del Juego, said in its latest report that the average number of new accounts created grew by 29.88 per cent year on year while deposits from players increased 24.38 per cent.

Out of the total GGR amount, US$104.3m (€85.2m) went to gambling. This accounted for 43.22 per cent of the total gross gaming revenue. The segment showed an increase of over 25 per cent year on year. Sports betting performed particularly well, up 32.63 per cent.

US$4.76m (€3.89 million) was generated by bingo, which represented 1.97 per cent of the online market and a rise of 22.5 per cent year on year.

US$102.7m (€83.89m) was generated by online casino, which accounted for 42.55 per cent of total GGR and marking a 25.98 per cent year-on-year increase.

The regulator said there was a quarter-to-quarter drop in the quarter, which “was showed in all games, and is mainly due to the roulette behaviour as well as fortune machine gaming.”

Poker represented 11.67 per cent of the sales, with US$28.7m (€23.01m).

The remaining US$1.4m (€1.15m) went to contests (0.58%).

End of marketing ban

The regulator also measures marketing spend from the 80 authorised operators for online gaming in Spain, and it has increased 81.36 per cent year-on-year to US$128.5m (€105m).

The regulator said the expenses were substantially increased since the previous quarter (269.49 per cent) due to the lifting of the advertising and promotion restrictions for online gaming put in place last June.

These restrictions were established in April, in light of regulations during the Covid-19 crisis.