Spanish Gambling Thrives: Revenue in Q2 Increases by Over 50% Compared to 2022
Gambling in Spain seems to be on the rise, as the gambling authority in the country reports an increase in revenue by 55% in Q2 of 2023. It is not only slot machines that were popular with Spanish players in the second quarter, but they also were enthusiastic about sports betting. The number of deposits also increased. Thus, Spanish gambling shows quite an impressive result for a relatively new market.
The revenue in Q2 2023 was much better than for the same period of 2022. As we have already mentioned, it increased by 55% and comprised €312.6m. It was also slightly ahead of the Q1 number – by 2.5%. Those numbers were reported by the Directorate General for the Regulation of Gambling (DGOJ). Let’s take a closer look to see the current trends in Spanish gambling.
CASINO GAMES STILL ON TOP
The casino section, which includes live dealer entertainment, table games, and slot machines, was still the most popular type of gambling in Spain, so its revenue increased by a quarter compared to the previous year. GGR in Q2 of 2023 for casino games was €149.9m.
Slot machines remain the most popular type of games in the casino section, and their revenue increased by 29.9% compared to the previous year, so players are even more eager to spin the reels of video slots than it was before, and they often choose them over live dealer games. E.g., the revenue for live roulette grew by 8.9%.
SPORTS BETTING REVENUE DOUBLES!
However, casino revenue growth is not the main surprise in the Q2 report. It is a sportsbook that shows an impressive result compared to 2022! Betting revenue comprised €133.3m, which is almost the same as for casinos, and it increased by 119% compared to the same period in 2022. Those are horse racing and pre-event betting that managed to be higher than in Q1, but all other types of bets slipped by 15%.
Meanwhile, poker games and tournament poker show better results than in 2022, but they generated less revenue in Q2 than in Q1. Those willing to play bingo have not increased their revenue significantly, so GGR is only 5.5% higher than in 2022.
PLAYERS MAKE MORE DEPOSITS
According to the report of the Directorate General for the Regulation of Gambling Spanish players are more active when it comes to gambling in 2023.
Thus, deposits were 20% up compared to 2022. Still, they were 2% behind the Q1 numbers. At the same time, cashouts were only 3% higher than the previous year and 2% lower than in Q1 of 2023. The number of active accounts also increased by 11%, and there are now 1.1m active accounts in Spain.
As for the licensed gambling destinations, there were 78 of them in Q2. 50 of them were casinos, 43 sportsbooks. At the same time, nine destinations allowed poker, and only three operators offered bingo services.
The report of DGOJ also states that licensees were also marketing their services actively and spent €96.6m to promote their services. Expenses on affiliates and sponsorships rocketed up, while advertising spend remained more or less the same along with promotions.
Moreover, you might be interested to know about the recent changes in gambling rules introduced in Spain.
