Spain gambling revenue up by 13.8% in 2020

Spain’s national gambling regulator Dirección General de Ordenación del Juego (DGOJ) informed a 13.8% year-on-year increase in online gross gambling revenue (GGR) in 2020. This was despite a fall in sports betting revenue.

GGR for the year was at €850.7m (£726.3m/$998.0m). The amount was up from €748.2m in the previous year.

Sports wagering remained the primary source of GGR for operators. Although, 7.1% year-on-year decline to €365.1m.

Casino GGR increased 33.7% to €350.8m. Poker GGR was also up 35.8% to €110.3m. Bingo GGR goes up to 40.8% to €16.5m. Contests revenue skyrocketed to 185.7% from €8.0m.

Player spending on online gambling amounted to €21.60bn. The value was up by 15.0% from €18.78bn in the previous year. The number of active accounts also reached 16.0% from 2.9m million. There were 1.5 million active players, up 8.8% year-on-year.

The DGOJ also revealed that marketing spends from operators increased 24.2% to €462.1m in 2020. Advertising expenses were €199.7m. Total spending on promotions was €197.3m. Affiliate costs €38.5m and sponsorship costs were €26.6m.

The DGOJ also published data for the fourth quarter. In this, GGR amounted to €231.2m. From the third half of 2020, it was also 20.0% higher.

Sports betting was the major source of income for operators. The GGR amount was €103.5m. It represents 44.8% of the total GGR in the quarter.

Casino followed in second with €97.8m in GGR. It counts 42.3% of overall revenue in Q4. Poker GGR amounted to €24.9m. Bingo GGR reached €3.9m and, the remaining €1.1m in income came from contests. Stakes came to €6.65bn. The casino stakes were highest at €3.43bn.

Looking at deposits during the quarter, consumers spent €1.07bn. The amount was an increase of 31.8% on the previous year.

Withdrawals were also high. Players took €840.7m out, 32.6% higher than in the fourth quarter of 2019.

To market spend, operators in Spain spent €148.8m during Quarter Fourth. A gain of 24.5% on the previous year.

Summarizing all €71.0m went to advertising spend. €56.3m allocated for promotions. €12.2m on affiliation expenses, and €9.2m spent on sponsorship.

The monthly average of active game accounts was also up 8.1% year-on-year to 1,051,139. The monthly average of the new game accounts increased by 18.9% to 391,510.

By the end of the quarter, there were 80 licensed operators active in the country. These include 51 offering casinos, nine poker, three bingo, and two contests.