A new report provides information on GGR for 2020 in Spain
A recent report by BtoBet reveals the growth of the online gambling market in Spain in 2020, which generated 850.7 million euros in GGR, which represented an increase of 13.7% compared to 2019. In addition, growth was observed on player deposits by 19.48% and on withdrawals, which increased by 21.1%. One of the main reasons for that growth was the easy access to gaming activities via the Internet and on smartphones, gamers have become more used to the idea of playing remotely.
In 2020 sports betting had the largest market share, reaching 365.14 million euros. This number represents 42.92% of the industry share over the past year. They held out despite the impact COVID-19 had on the global sports calendar. The strong performance of online casinos offset the drops in the betting vertical and suggested that players had switched from one vertical to the other.
Slots gaming accounted for € 51.9 million of the casino's GGR, up 30.4% year-on-year and over 19.9% quarter-on-quarter. Live roulette continued to grow with revenue of € 27.0 million, an increase of 75.7% from the second quarter of 2019. Revenue from poker almost doubled, increasing 97.4% to 38.2 million euros, while bingo also enjoyed a strong quarter, contributing 66.9% to 5.0 million euros.
These increases have helped offset the observed drop in sports betting due to the coronavirus pandemic that saw many major sporting events, such as the Premier League, canceled or delayed.
The growth comes with a great controversy over the new restrictions, in the background
Gambling revenue fell dramatically in many countries, including Spain, where revenue fell to just € 68.1 million. The sector is slowly recovering and tighter restrictions on advertising are likely to be an obstacle to recovery.
Bonus payments dropped dramatically due to the ban on these types of payments that was introduced due to stricter advertising regulations. Operators paid a total of 12.5 million euros in bonuses, which corresponds to a decrease of 57.3% compared to the previous year.
These new strict measures originated from a multi-party agreement between the president of the Spanish government, Pedro Sánchez, the head of Podemos, Pablo Iglesias, and the Minister of Consumer Protection, Alberto Garzón. This implies a legislative alignment of gambling advertising guidelines with those of the tobacco industry.
Consumer protection measures have been welcomed by most, but concerns have been raised about the effectiveness of a sponsorship ban, as this could push towards unlicensed providers. New, more secure payment options, such as the Pay N Play Casino feature, are being sought in the future.
The online gaming association Jdigital has been very critical of advertising restrictions and Spain's two main state providers, as this is an area of great concern for state gaming operators that are not subject to the same regulations as private operators.
Countries leading the way
Technological innovation helps consumers to now enjoy online gambling and gambling anywhere, anytime. The growth of the online gambling market has encouraged significant growth, expansion and advancement in the technology and software sectors to accommodate this growth.
The global gaming market is driven primarily by North America and Europe, thanks to factors such as rising per capita income, high adoption, rising interest, and the growth of dual-income households. Gross gambling revenues for European countries tend to be highest in the UK and Italy, followed by Germany, France and Spain.
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