NEWS
2 May 2017
Spanish online gambling market reaches record heights
By Caroline Watson
n’s online gambling market has reached an all-time high with gross gambling revenues for 2016 soaring by 32.6% to €125.7m in Q4.

According to results posted by the Directorate General for the Regulation of Gambling, the amount wagered online increased by 19.9% to €2.9bn.

Sports betting had a huge impact on the fourth quarter results, generating an impressive 55.52% of the country’s total gambling revenues worth €69.8m.

Additionally, casinos held a 28.6% share worth €36m, poker with a 12.12% share worth €15.2m, with bingo only contributing a dismal 2% share worth €2.2m.

The number of first-time customers signing up for new accounts increased by 10% to 598,000, whilst active players saw an increase of 17.3%.

The reason for the notable increase in signups is down to operators spending more than a third on marketing and promotional material, which has clearly paid off.

Furthermore, whilst poker saw a drop in the amount wagered, it enjoyed a slight increase in revenue during the fourth quarter of 2016. The amount wagered was down 6.9% year-on-year to €415.6m, whilst revenue totalled €15.23m, up 4.6%.