Spanish GGR drops 5% in Q3 as advertising ban hits market
Marketing spend drops 41% while new account numbers fall 47% as betting and poker slump by double digits
Spanish gross gambling revenue (GGR) dropped by 5% year-on-year (YoY) during Q3 2021 to €182.69m, according to the latest data released by Spanish regulator DGOJ.
Declines were reported in all major verticals, with the exception of online casino where GGR rose by 22.6% YoY to €100.3m in the final three months of 2021.
Contest GGR experienced the biggest decline in Q3, dropping a whopping 91% YoY to just €103,576 or by 71% on a quarter-on-quarter basis.
Sports betting GGR fell by 29% YoY in Q3 to €59.1m, suffering from the effects of restrictions on gambling advertising, sponsorships and TV coverage during live matches and through half-time.
Poker gross gambling revenue reduced by 15% YoY during Q3 2021 to €19.5m, while bingo brought up the rear, reporting a YoY decline in GGR of 10% to €3.5m.
Spend on marketing by Spanish-licensed operators amounted to €89.6m during Q3, falling by 42% year-on-year as the effects of the Spanish ban on advertising, sponsorships and promotions hit the market during the quarter.
Sponsorship spend bore the brunt of the ban in Q3, falling 77% YoY to just €1.6m, while spend on bonuses and promotions dropped 49% to €42.3m.
Operator spend on advertising declined by 30% YoY during Q3 to €36.1m, while affiliate marketing spend dropped 7% year-on-year to €8.6m.
Active online accounts in Spain grew by 4% year-on-year during Q3 to 915,239, however new account sign ups fell by 47% during the same period to 173,224.
Delivering his analysis of the Q3 numbers, Spanish igaming market expert Eduardo Morales Hermo said: “It looks obvious that the advertising, sponsorship and promotions ban has impacted the revenues, in particular sports betting,
Morales Hermo continued: “We will have to see how that evolves in the fourth quarter, whether the trend continues, and we see the damage continue specifically in the betting vertical, or if that stabilises somewhat with the strategy implemented by the operators to overcome the damage.
“Local land-based operators shall be able to capitalise their retail points of sale, casinos, bingos, gaming halls, betting shops/corners and single sites, in order to be able to have an advantage in their branding visualisation and perception of their online gaming and betting offer, which pure online operators do not have,” he added.