No Rain: Spain Weathers the Covid Storm with Effective Protection Measures
Published October 27, 2020 by Lee R
In tough times, Spain's stable Q2 figures showing resilience.
GGR reports for Q2 show a stabilized market in Spain.
The Totals
Official figures from Spanish regulator Directorate General for the Regulation of Gambling (DGOJ) show Spanish online gambling revenue rose 18% year-on-year for Q2 2020 despite a major hiccup in the sports betting sector.
GGR Numbers
The comforting overall figures for online Gross Gaming Revenue in Spain topped out at €208.9m ($244.9m) for Q2, representing a 4% quarter-on-quarter decrease which could have been a lot worse for the quarter when the Covid economic wave hit.
The Sports Betting Hit
The inevitable sports betting revenue drop was 20% year-on-year, down to €68.2m—which was sequentially 38% lower than Q1 in the wake of major sport events all but suspended from mid-March to May.
For Q2, conventional sports bets dropped sequentially 49%, and in-play betting down 35% from the previous quarter.
Overall GGR Growth
Nonetheless, casino GGR grew 36% year-on-year, and was up 23% sequentially to €93.5m, with online gaming participation predictably increasing during the lockdown period, with Poker GGR leading the charge with a somewhat astounding 97% year-on-year increase, and a 58% sequential boost from Q1 to €38.2m.
Spend Down
While predictable in occurrence if not final rate, the size of the gains becomes even more remarkable when considering that marketing spend was down 66% compared to Q1 (€40.6m. As for spend, advertising spend dropped 71%; dropping the monthly active gaming account average 25% year-on-year to 632,938.
DGOJ Assessment
The DGOJ formally acknowledged the link between Q2 activity and COVID-19, but also attributed the drops to limits imposed within the Spain jurisdiction on online gambling marketing and advertising, limits which were in effect from April until June of this year.
Mitigating Limits
More limits which will shape the market in areas of spend and participation include advertising bans on operators displaying their brands on sports team jerseys, along with audiovisual advertising being permitted only between the wee hours of 1 and 5am.
Outlook
Spain's progressive market has proven sustainable in term of effective government limits that minimize the the negative effects of gambling on both operators, users and spectators, which seems to have provided the stability for the market to stand tall against Covid and show overall resilience.
