Spain‘s Directorate General for Gambling Regulation has reported a significant increase in gross gaming revenue (GGR) for the first quarter of 2024.
This growth exceeds 15% compared to the same period of the previous year, totaling 350.69 million euros. This increase demonstrates the resilience and continued growth of the gambling market in the country.
Market growth and performance
Casino revenue, although showing a decline compared to the previous quarter, showed a significant improvement compared to the first quarter of 2023, with an increase of just over 17%.
The Spanish authority reported €350.69 million in the first quarter, marking an increase of 11.23% compared to €315.29 million in the fourth quarter of 2023 and an improvement of 15.14%.
Deposits in the quarter reached 1.09 billion euros, an increase of 5.61% compared to the previous quarter and 15.85% in annual terms. Withdrawals totaled 739.96 million euros, an increase of 0.72% compared to the previous quarter and 13.9% compared to the same period last year.
New accounts reached 446,586, reflecting a 15.21% increase from the previous quarter and an impressive 33.64% year-on-year growth.
The monthly average of active gaming accounts was 1,327,575, an increase of 4.57% compared to the previous quarter and 14.58% in annual terms.
Gaming performance in Spain: casino and slots
Of the revenue of 350.69 million euros, casino operations had the largest share with 47.84% (167.76 million euros). Soon after, bets represented 42.85% of the total, reaching 150.28 million euros.
Poker contributed 8.11%, equivalent to 28.45 million euros, while bingo represented 1.19%, totaling 4.19 million euros. The competitions, in turn, had a minimum participation of 2,000 euros.
The Spanish gaming market in the first quarter had 78 licensed operators, distributed between casino (50), betting (41), poker (9), bingo (4) and contests (2).
Casino revenue of €167.76 million represented a 2.05% decline from the previous quarter but a 17.02% improvement from the previous year.
Slots fell 7.51% in the quarter, but increased 14.98% in annual terms. Live roulette grew by 6.37% compared to the previous quarter and 22.19% compared to the same period last year. Blackjack increased by 7.32% and conventional roulette increased by 9.69%.
Reports on betting, poker and bingo games in Spain
The value of bets, with 150.28 million euros, showed an improvement of 30.99% compared to the previous quarter and 15.37% compared to the previous year.
For the quarter, pre-game and other bets increased by 588.84% and 1.57%, respectively, but live and horse bets fell by 31.69% and 28.36%, respectively.
Poker revenue, at 28.45 million euros, increased by 11.98% compared to the previous quarter and 3.99% year-on-year.
Bingo accounted for 4.19 million euros, an increase of 9.18% in the quarter and 24.93% in annual terms.
Competitions registered a significant drop. There was a reduction of 96.79% compared to the previous quarter and 99.38% compared to the same period last year.
Investment in marketing
Marketing expenses in the first quarter totaled 112.79 million euros. There was a 1% drop compared to the previous quarter. However, there was an annual increase of 14.86%.
Promotions reached a total of 55.67 million euros, representing an increase of 10.92% year on year. Advertising was worth 41.78 million euros, registering a growth of 22.49%.
Membership expenses totaled 14.27 million euros, reflecting annual growth of 14.82%. Finally, sponsorship spending reached 1.07 million euros, which indicates a drop of 27.23%.
