Spain Q4 revenue slips 2% as sports betting and poker figures slide

Gross gaming revenue (GGR) from Spain‘s regulated online gambling market fell by 2% year-on-year for Q4 2019 as total revenue hit €185.5m (£158.6m), according to latest figures from the regulator.

The DGOJ revealed sports betting accounted for the largest share of Spanish market revenue during the quarter, with Q4 revenue hitting €89.95m (£76.9m), or 48% of total GGR for the period.

However, betting revenue was down 10% from the figures generated during the same period of 2018, when the figure hit €100.7m.

Online casino revenue accounted for 38% of Spanish GGR during Q4, as revenue reached €72.2m (£61.7m), representing an 12% rise on 2018.

Poker revenue, which accounted for just under 11% of Spanish GGR during Q4, fell by just under 1% to €20m (£17.1m).

Revenue from online bingo declined by 16% during the quarter, falling to €2.67m (£2.2m), accounting for just over 1% of total GGR during Q4.

The number of active accounts rose by 13%, with 972,724 active accounts registered during the period and a 17% rise in the number of new accounts to 301,432.

Marketing spend increased by 15%, with €112.9m (£96.5m) being spent during the fourth quarter.

The biggest increase was in spend on sponsorship, which rose by 38% and on bonus promotions, which rose by just over 24% annually.

Affiliate marketing spend also increased by just over 6%.

Earlier this week, the Spanish government unveiled proposals to heavily restrict gambling advertising by operators, including restricting bonuses and promotions by gambling operators to €100 or less.

Under the proposed new standards, the use of celebrities and sports stars in gambling ads will also be banned.