Spanish GGR jumps 17% as casino surpasses sports betting in Q2
Above-the-line advertising spend drops 57% as bingo and poker pick up the pieces during coronavirus pandemic
Spanish sports betting revenue slumped by more than 20% to €68.1m (£61.6m) during the second quarter of 2020, according to the latest data from regulator DGOJ.
In-play sportsbook betting fell by almost 35% quarter-on-quarter, while bets excluding in-play plunged by 48% in the same period.
Spanish Q2 sportsbook numbers were damaged by the suspension of domestic La Liga, the English Premier League and the German Bundesliga due to the coronavirus pandemic.
However, there were substantial increases in other betting verticals, with wagers on horseracing increasing by 52% when compared to Q1.
Total gross gambling revenue (GGR) for Q2 hit €208.8m, up 17% year-on-year, with online casino surpassing sports betting as the main GGR contributor to the Spanish market during the period.
Poker proved to be the biggest winner during Q2 after revenue rocketed 97% to €38.1m. Online poker tournaments continued its stellar upsurge as reported in Q1, with annual revenue rising 733% during Q2 to €3.9m.
Online casino also continued its upward trajectory during Q2, with revenue rising 36% to €93.5m, while online bingo revenue jumped 67% to more than €5m.
In April, the Spanish government introduced significant advertising restrictions on Spanish operators, introducing a blanket ban on advertising gambling products except between 1am and 5am.
The ban, which applied to TV, radio and online video sites including YouTube, was initially only expected to last a fortnight, but eventually ended in June.
This restriction severely affected advertising spend during Q2, which fell 57% to €17.1m.
Bonuses were also prohibited under the restrictions, leading to a 57% drop in spend on bonus promotions to €12.4m in the second quarter of 2020. Affiliate marketing spend also dropped 23% during Q2 to €6.6m.
However, spend on sponsorships by gambling operators bucked the trend, rising by 16% to €4.3m.
In July, the Spanish government confirmed it was seeking to ban shirt sponsorships of sports teams by gambling operators.
However, this has not stopped several international operators including Betway, Dafabet and Winamax from concluding sponsorship deals with La Liga clubs.