Spain’s regulated online gambling market returned to growth in the third quarter, as sports betting shook off its post-World Cup hangover.
Figures released Monday by Spain’s Dirección General de Ordenación del Juego (DGOJ) regulatory body show Spanish-licensed online gambling operators generated revenue of €191.7m in the three months ending September 30. The sum represents a 5.4% rise over the same period last year and 7.5% higher than Q2 2019.
Sports betting suffered a year-on-year decline in Q2 2019 but rebounded in Q3 with revenue rising 3.2% year-on-year to €100.8m. Live betting remains the dominant form of wagering for both revenue (€57.9m, +5.2%) and turnover (€1.08b, -4%), as pre-match wagering revenue fell 0.4% to €40.1m despite turnover shooting up nearly 19% to €519m.
The online casino vertical saw its revenue rise 9.3% year-on-year to €66.5m, although this represented a 3.6% sequential decline. Slots revenue gained 12.1% to €38.4m, while live roulette placed second with €14.8m (+24.5%). Traditional roulette (€8m, -7.5%) and blackjack (€5.3m, -12.7%) both had an off quarter.
Online poker revenue was up both year-on-year (+3.4%) and sequentially (+5.8%) to €20.5m. All of the gains came courtesy of tournaments, which shot up 8.6% to €13.5m while cash games declined 5.5% to €7m despite cash game spending rising 3.75% year-on-year.
As for the lesser verticals, bingo improved 1% year-on-year to €3.2m while the beleaguered ‘contests’ segment showed a rare sign of life, with revenue more than doubling year-on-year, albeit to a still inconsequential €730k.
Despite (or because of) the lack of a World Cup, Spanish operators boosted their marketing spending by 6% to €82.3m during Q3, with sponsorship and affiliate spending on the rise and advertising on the decline.
The ad figure will likely go on declining for some time after Spanish-licensed operators announced agreement on a new voluntary advertising code last month. The code is intended to fend off more draconian restrictions that might be imposed by Spain’s new coalition government, which includes parties that have vowed to rein in gambling operators’ marketing efforts.
The DGOJ will soon have an additional online gambling vertical to report after local licensee Wanabet (an R Franco Digital site) launched virtual sports betting supplied by Kiron Interactive.
