Spain: Online gambling houses also win in times of inflation

In the absence of information about the fourth, it is likely that a new record will have been broken in 2022, since the World Cup was accentuated in November, which usually triggers sports betting. Until September, the gross profits of the operators were 647 million euros, which is not far away, with a quarter to go, the maximum of 851 million obtained in 2020, the year of the pandemic.

The gross margin of the operators increased to 240 million in the third quarter of 2022

In the third quarter, the increase in online gambling was much higher than general consumption, which grew by 1% in the third quarter, according to INE data. The economic moment was marked by inflation and also by the beginning of the ECB rate hikes, the effect of which began to be appreciated this year.

In Spain there are 78 operators with online gaming licenses, of which the majority, 45, are dedicated to betting. This business is regulated by the State, unlike physical gambling establishments, which are the responsibility of the autonomous communities. In Spain there are online operators well known for their advertising effort in the years when there was no specific regulation in this regard. Among them are 888, Betfair, Betway or Hillside.

In mid-2021, the law promoted by the Minister of Consumption, Alberto Garzón, which regulates advertising in bets, came into force. From that moment on, the ads are limited to nighttime hours, both on television and radio as well as on platforms such as YouTube. The General Directorate of Gaming calculates that marketing expenses for the quarter stood at 96 million, 7.7% more than a year earlier.

Of the 240 million gross profit for the quarter, 89 million, or 37%, corresponded to sports betting, which increased 46% compared to the previous quarter and 48% compared to the same period of the previous year. Online players are also regulars at quizzes, poker, bingo and casinos.

At the end of 2021 there were 1.47 million active players in Spain and 2.8 million registered gaming accounts. That year, the first with the new Garzón regulation already in place, advertising spending stood at 205 million euros. In 2020 it was 197 million.