Spanish online market grows by a third

Spain’s online gaming revenues grew by a third during Q1 2016 after another strong sportsbook performance and the recent addition of slots to the casino vertical.

According to figures released by the country’s regulator, Direcci?n General de Ordenaci?n del Juego, total gross gaming revenues in the quarter were ?102.3m, up 32% on the same period last year.

Sportsbook remained the biggest grossing vertical, making up 57% of the total market with revenues of ?58.7m, up 29% year-on-year and 10% sequentially.

Turnover in sportsbook grew by 33% to ?1.3bn when compared to last year, of which 71% of stakes were placed in-play and resulted in 59% of total sportsbook revenues. However, betting margin was around 5%, lower than averages seen in other regulated markets such as Italy and Great Britain.

Following the introduction of slots last summer, casino revenues more than doubled (up 104%) to ?25m, with the new games contributing ?9.5m, or 38% of total casino revenues.

Elsewhere, poker continued to contract as revenues fell 12% year-on-year to ?14.8m while bingo increased 10% to ?2.1m. Total deposits were up 40% to ?271m.

Growth in the Spanish market comes with increased marketing expenditure from operators – total advertising spend in the country was up 46% to ?32.7m year-on-year and 41% sequentially.

“These results are encouraging and show the impact of having a complete gaming offer after the implementation of the slots and exchange betting, which has brought more players and gaming volume from the offshore environment within the regulated market,” Eduardo Morales Hermo, Spanish gaming consultant, said.