The gambling industry in Spain experienced slight growth in the third quarter of the year, with total Gross Gaming Revenue (GGR) reaching €348 million. This marks a 0.5% rise from the second quarter figure of €346.3 million. The growth followed the Spanish Supreme Court’s decision in April to ease certain marketing restrictions, such as bans on celebrity endorsements and welcome bonuses.
This increase in GGR was further driven by a significant rise in both deposits and withdrawals, which were up by 23.9% and 30.3%, respectively, compared to the same quarter in 2022. Furthermore, gambling operators took advantage of the relaxed advertising rules by boosting their marketing expenditure by 9.7% to €131.7 million, resulting in a 1.7% increase in the number of new accounts compared to the second quarter.
Currently, there are 77 licensed online gambling operators in Spain. Among them, 51 offer casino games, 42 specialize in sports betting, nine provide poker services, four focus on bingo, and two host contests.
### Casino Industry Thrives Amidst Decline in Sports Betting
The casino sector in Spain showed impressive growth, with its GGR reaching €188 million in the third quarter, making up 54% of the total online GGR. This represents a 17.3% increase year-over-year and a 9.5% rise from the previous quarter. Notably, revenue from blackjack surged by 49.4%, while slots saw a GGR increase of 25.8%.
In contrast, sports betting experienced a 6.6% drop in GGR from the second quarter, falling to €135.9 million. Pre-match betting decreased by 24.3%, but in-play betting grew by 8.7%. Despite Spain’s victory in the Euros 2024 tournament, which ran from June 14 to July 14, the sector faced challenges. Nonetheless, sports betting GGR grew by 19.8% compared to the previous year, constituting 39.1% of the country’s GGR.
Poker’s popularity continued to decline, with GGR dropping to €20.5 million, marking a 19.7% decrease from Q2 and a 23.5% year-over-year decline. Bingo, on the other hand, reported a modest GGR of €3.7 million, slightly surpassing the second quarter by 0.7% and showing a 1.7% increase from Q3 of the previous year.
### Increased Marketing Expenditure in Q3
The easing of restrictions led to a substantial 40.9% growth in marketing spending year-on-year. During the third quarter, this spending was categorized into €66.9 million on promotions, €50.4 million on advertisements, €13.2 million on affiliate expenses, and €1.3 million on sponsorship. Notably, ad expenditure and promotional costs surged by 51.3% and 40.2%, respectively, while affiliate advertising experienced a 13.7% year-on-year increase.
These changes contributed to a 33.3% rise in the monthly average of active game accounts year-on-year, reaching 1,443,615. The average number of new game accounts each month also rose by 42.4% compared to the same period the previous year.
Codere Online, one of the operators, highlighted the beneficial regulatory environment in Spain following the Supreme Court’s adjustments in its Q3 report released in November. CEO Aviv Sher noted an increase in attracting high-value players with better loyalty and retention. Although the reintroduction of welcome bonuses slightly impacted Codere Online’s profit margins negatively, this measure has significantly contributed to the overall market’s growth in the third quarter.