How Spanish operators can secure Euro 2024 marketing gains

The recent repeal of online gaming advertising restrictions in Spain by the Supreme Court has paved the way for a vibrant new business landscape, reminiscent of the promotional activities witnessed during Euro 2020, held the following year due to the Covid-19 pandemic. With the upcoming tournament starting today, with hosts Germany facing Scotland, and Spain set to play Croatia tomorrow, all operators in Spain are gearing up to capitalise on this golden opportunity.

Key highlights of the regulatory shift:

1. Promotional freedom: operators now have the liberty to offer promotions across all permitted advertising channels, including traditional media like television and radio, alongside social media and website ads;
2. Expanded advertising channels: social media and website advertising have regained their segmentation-unrestricted status, allowing operators to reach a wider audience through programmatic advertising and direct media partnerships;
3. Sponsorships: while the regulatory change doesn’t directly impact this area, valuable clarification on permissible methods for conducting sports sponsorships has been provided, paving the way for innovative and compliant forms of sports sponsorships.

Implications and opportunities

This new landscape is expected to favour big players, particularly purely online brands with substantial marketing budgets. Their ability to leverage expanded channels effectively will enable them to reach a broader audience and increase ROI significantly. Additionally, the return of welcome bonuses will benefit the crucial affiliate channel, which was previously impacted by the repealed decree.

To maximise the benefits of the new advertising landscape, operators should implement specific strategies tailored to each channel:

1. Television and radio: bring back welcome bonus offers to traditional TV commercials, late-night shows and radio advertisements.
2. SEM: update ad copy with welcome bonuses and relevant promotions.
3. SEO: reclaim old links from SEO pages related to welcome bonuses keywords, while continuously creating new ones. Adapt on-page SEO to capitalise on promotional keywords.
4. Display: reintroduce welcome bonus ads on websites, particularly sports media outlets, using programmatic platforms and direct agreements.
5. Social media: enhance social media advertising by incorporating welcome bonuses and offers, now with unrestricted audience segmentation.
6. Affiliation: resume promoting welcome bonuses, betting challenges, and other offers across websites, social media platforms, Telegram groups and betting apps.
7. CRM: modify email protocols and internal systems to incentivise deposits from registration, eliminating the 30-day waiting period and identity verification requirement that was mandatory in the repealed decree.
8. Sponsorships: the articles on this point remain as they were; a clarification was provided which gives room to explore innovative sponsorship opportunities. Any sponsorship is authorised, whether to use it in acquisition campaigns, brand advertising, its own website or CRM, with the only exceptions of jersey advertising, that continues to be prohibited, and advertising assets on the stadium’s television outside of hours from 1am to 5am.
9. Celebrities and influencers: with the recent repeal of online gambling advertising restrictions in Spain, a new range of possibilities has opened up for operators to capture the public’s attention.

Now, thanks to the modified regulations, it is possible to hire any star football player for advertising campaigns, which opens the door to the creation of more attractive and effective strategies.

This allows for more precise audience segmentation, directing messages through figures relevant to the activity. Consultants specialising in sponsorships and celebrity contract negotiations are already experiencing an increase in enquiries to negotiate and sign agreements, not only with celebrities, but also with influencers, micro-influencers and nano-influencers, taking advantage of their contact networks and at competitive prices.

The repeal of advertising restrictions presents a unique opportunity for online gaming operators to expand their reach, attract new customers and drive business growth. By implementing strategic, channel-specific marketing campaigns and leveraging industry expertise, operators will use Euro 2024 as the first important event to capitalise on the new opportunities opened by the repeal.

Pedro Barreda is a specialist in online gaming marketing and business development with over 12 years of experience, having worked for 888 and William Hill. He is currently consulting gaming operators for the Spanish and international markets