Spain’s Directorate General for the Regulation of Gambling has reported a gross gambling revenue increase for the country’s gambling market in the first quarter of 2024 of more than 15 per cent year-over-year.
Casino revenue was down in comparison to the previous quarter but had improved when compared to Q1 2023 figures by just over 17 per cent.
For Q1, the Spanish authority declared a GGR of €350.69m, up 11.23 per cent when compared to Q4 2023’s €315.29m and a 15.14 per cent YoY improvement.
Deposits for the quarter stood at €1.09bn, a 5.61 per cent increase quarter-over-quarter and a 15.85 per cent uptick YoY. Withdrawals came in at €739.96m, up 0.72 per cent QoQ and 13.9 per cent in comparison to the same period last year.
New accounts came in at 446,586, a 15.21 per cent increase QoQ and a 33.64 per cent uptick YoY. The monthly average of active game accounts was 1,327,575, up 4.57 per cent QoQ and 14.58 per cent YoY, while the monthly average of new game accounts was 148,862, a 15.21 per cent increase QoQ and a 33.64 per cent uptick YoY.
Of the €350.69m GGR, casino operations had the largest share at 47.84 per cent (€167.76m), followed by betting at 42.85 per cent (€150.28m), poker at 8.11 per cent (€28.45m), bingo at 1.19 per cent (€4.19m) and contests with a minimal share (€2,000).
For Q1, the Spanish market had 78 licensed operators – casino: 50, betting: 41, poker: nine, bingo: four and contests: two.
Casino’s GGR of €167.76m is a decline of 2.05 per cent QoQ but a 17.02 per cent improvement YoY. Slots fell by 7.51 per cent QoQ but rose by 14.98 per cent YoY. Live roulette grew by 6.37 per cent QoQ and by 22.19 per cent in comparison to the same period last year.
Elsewhere QoQ, blackjack increased by 7.32 per cent, while conventional roulette rose by 9.69 per cent.
Betting’s GGR of €150.28m is an improvement of 30.99 per cent on the previous quarter and 15.37 per cent on the previous year. QoQ, pre-match and other betting increased by 588.84 per cent and 1.57 per cent respectively, but in-play and horse betting dropped by 31.69 per cent and 28.36 per cent respectively.
Poker’s GGR of €28.45m is up 11.98 per cent QoQ and 3.99 per cent YoY. Tournament poker rose by 11.19 per cent QoQ and 2.04 per cent YoY, while cash poker improved by 13.91 per cent QoQ and 8.91 per cent YoY.
Bingo’s GGR of €4.19m is an increase of 9.18 per cent QoQ and a 24.93 per cent YoY. Contests’ GGR of €2,000 is a decline of 96.79 per cent in comparison to the previous quarter and 99.38 per cent when compared to the same period last year.
Q1 marketing expenditure stood at €112.79m, down one per cent QoQ but up 14.86 per cent YoY. Broken down, promotions stood at €55.67m (up 10.92 per cent YoY), advertising was €41.78m (up 22.49 per cent YoY), affiliation expenses stood at €14.27m (up 14.82 per cent YoY) and sponsorship was €1.07m (down 27.23 per cent YoY).
