Spain’s betting authority, the Directorate General for Gambling Regulation (DGOJ), announced Q3 online gross gaming revenue (GGR) of €348.1 million (£287.5 million/$366.5 million), a 14.4% increase over the previous year.
The Q3 betting GGR was also up (0.5%) from the previous quarter’s total of €346.3 million, with operators continuing to benefit from the Supreme Court’s decision in April to abolish various marketing restrictions, such as bans on celebrity promotion and welcome incentives.
The growth in GGR was bolstered by higher deposits and withdrawals, which jumped 23.9% and 30.3%, respectively, compared to Q3 2023, while operators took advantage of the loosened ad limitations, raising marketing expenditure 9.7% quarter over quarter to €131.7 million. There were 1.7% more new accounts than in Q2.
Spain now has 77 registered online operators, with 51 sites offering casinos, 42 for sports betting, nine for poker, four for bingo, and two for competitions.
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Casinos flourish in Spain while sports betting declines YoY
Casino GGR totaled €188 million in Q3, accounting for 54% of Spain’s total online GGR. It increased 17.3% year on year and 9.5% over Q2. Blackjack revenue grew by 49.4%, while slots GGR increased by 25.8%.
Sports betting GGR fell 6.6% from Q2 to €135.9 million. Pre-match betting fell 24.3%, while in-play betting rose 8.7%. This was despite Spain winning the Euros 2024 event, which took place from June 14 to July 14.
Despite the quarterly dip, sports betting GGR increased 19.8% year on year, accounting for 39.1% of Spain’s overall GGR.
Poker’s popularity among Spanish gamblers continues to diminish. The segment’s GGR in the third quarter was €20.5 million, a 19.7% decline from the second quarter and a 23.5% decrease year on year.
Bingo, meanwhile, recorded €3.7 million in GGR, up 0.7% from Q2 and 1.7% from Q3 2023.
A look at marketing spend in the third quarter
Marketing costs increased by 40.9% year on year as limits were eased. In Q3, they were divided into four categories: €66.9 million for promotions, €50.4 million for advertising, €13.2 million for affiliate expenditures, and €1.3 million for sponsorship.
Ad and promotional spending surged by 51.3% and 40.2%, respectively, while affiliate advertising grew by 13.7% year on year.
The lifting of limitations and consequent increases in marketing expenditure contributed to the Q3 monthly average of active gaming accounts climbing 33.3% year on year to 1,443,615. The monthly average of new gaming accounts was 153,181, up 42.4% from the same period previous year.
Codere Online hailed Spain’s favorable online gaming climate following the Supreme Court’s rule revision in April in its Q3 results in November.
According to the operator’s CEO, Aviv Sher, the company is recruiting higher-value players in Spain with stronger retention and loyalty.
While the reinstatement of welcome incentives had a modest negative impact on Codere Online’s profit margins in Spain in the third quarter, the policy aided the overall market’s development.
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