The Spanish gaming regulator, the DGOJ, reported that gross gaming revenue for the first quarter of the year was €304.9 million. This represents a 51% year-over-year increase, but a 2.7% year-over-year decline.
Online casino revenue was up 29.1% year-on-year to €143.3 million, while sports betting revenue doubled to €130.6 million. Poker revenue grew by 24.9% to €27.3 million. Only bingo revenue fell, down 6.6% to €3.3m.
Operators spent €93.3m on marketing, down just 0.8% from last year. More than half of this amount (50.1 million euros) was spent on promotions, while 30 million euros were spent on advertising, 11.8 million euros on affiliation expenses and 1.2 million euros on sponsorships, of which last year an increase of 93.1% compared to the previous year, despite the ban on football sponsorship.
There were 1,158,628 monthly active player accounts for the quarter, up 11% year-over-year. In all, Spain has 78 active licensed gambling operators.
About the DGOJ
The Directorate-General for Gambling Regulation (DGOJ) is a body of the Ministry of Consumer Affairs, reporting to the Secretary-General for Consumer Affairs and Gambling, which has the following powers:
- The Directorate-General for Gaming Regulation is the body responsible for exercising the functions of regulating, authorizing, supervising, coordinating, controlling and, where applicable, sanctioning gambling activities.
- The General Directorate for Gambling Regulation will exercise the functions provided for in article 66 of Law No. 40/2015, of October 1, within the scope of its powers, and in the tenth complement of Law No. 3/2013, June 4th, creation of the National Markets and Competition Commission.
- The Directorate-General for Gambling Regulation is linked to the National Commission to Combat Manipulation of Sports Competitions and Betting Fraud and to the Responsible Gaming Advisory Board.
