Spanish online gambling revenue climbs in Q3 amid relaxation of advertising rules
Online gross gaming revenue in Spain was up 14.4 per cent year-on-year.
Spain.- The Spanish gambling regulator DGOJ has reported that online gross gaming revenue in Spain reached €348.1m in Q3. That’s a rise of 14.4 per cent compared to the same quarter in 2023 and 0.5 per cent from Q2 of this year.
The number of gambling accounts rose by 1.7 per cent against the previous quarter, while deposits and withdrawals rose by 23.9 per cent and 30.3 per cent year-on-year respectively. The monthly average of active game accounts rose by 33.3 per cent year-on-year to 1,443,615 and the monthly average of new game accounts rose by 42.4 per cent to 153,181.
This is likely to be because operators made the most of the Supreme Court’s April ruling that lifted some restrictions on gambling advertising in Spain. Figures show that operators’ combined marketing spend was up by 40.9 per cent year-on-year and 9.7 per cent quarter-on-quarter at €131.7m. This comprised €66.9m in promotions, €50.4m spent on advertising, €13.2m for affiliate expenses and €1.3m spent on sponsorship.
The government has since moved to reimpose restrictions on gambling advertising via a new amendment added to an unrelated decree to create a new state agency for public health. The Spanish online gambling trade body Jdigital has criticised the move.
Online casino and sports betting drive revenue growth
In terms of verticals, online casino gaming contributed 54 per cent of all online gross gaming revenue at €188m. That’s a rise of 17.3 per cent year-on-year and 9.5 per cent from Q2. Blackjack revenue was up by 49.4 per cent and slots revenue by 25.8 per cent.
Meanwhile, sports betting revenue was €135.9 million. That’s an increase of 19.8 per cent year-on-year but a decline of 6.6 per cent from Q2 despite Euro 2024 running into the start of the quarter and Spain winning the final against England on July 14. Pre-match betting was down 24.3 per cent and in-play betting up 8.7 per cent compared to Q2.
Poker revenue was down 3.5 per cent year-on-year at €20.5m and bingo revenue was up 1.7 per cent at €3.7m
At the close of the quarter, there were 77 licensed online gambling operators on the market. Of these, 51 sites offered online casino, 42 sports betting, nine poker, four bingo and two contests.
The major Spanish online gambling operator Codere Online reported net gaming revenues of €52m for Q3, a rise of 20 per cent from the same quarter last year. Revenue from Spain was up 11 per cent to €48m while revenue from Mexico rose by 23 per cent to €63m despite being hit by currency fluctuations.
The company said it continues to work to file its Form 20-F for 2023 amid the threat of delisting from the Nasdaq. The company has requested a hearing on the delisting. This has been scheduled for January 16.
