Part 1: Spain – the state gives with one hand…
the bookmaker-friendly fourth quarter of 2017 — more than 50% year-on-year monthly rises in
through the trend line is at least similar to casino. GGY to below 40%, while the average figure for
the past 13 months is more than 45%. Though still
A similar trend of sports betting volatility
disturbing an otherwise general move upwards can impressive, it does suggest a moderation in year-
be seen from the quarterly GGY progression from on-year rises is taking place.
the first quarter of 2016 onwards.
The same pattern is displayed when the year-
Active players and player losses
on-year percentage change for the past six What will provide comfort to the regulators is
quarters is looked at. Here it can be seen that the the degree to which online gambling appears to
trend line is rising, from a circa 25% rise in the first be a relatively mass-market pastime. The active
quarter of 2017 to the 35% mark by the second figures per month provide a picture of steadily
quarter of this year. rising participation rates all the way up to the high
achieved in June of 883,498, while the average
The monthly breakdown figure for monthly actives for the past 12 months
The same pattern of variable sports betting stands at 728,498.
GGY figures and a steady growth of casino is
The actives number gives us a chance to assess
also evident in the month-by-month figures. The average player losses per month, as shown in
most obvious outlier, though, comes with the last Chart 9.
month of the survey, June, when GGY soared by
As can be seen, the figures confirm the extent
more than 190% year-on-year, a reflection of the of the bookmaker-friendly results in December
World Cup taking place this year compared with of last year, when average player losses for the
no summer tournament last year. month hit more than €93, compared with the
The volatility is displayed to a greater extent by
the year-on-year comparison seen in.
average for the past 13 months of €72.
Still the relative stability of these figures,
The average year-on-year percentage rise over
the past 13 months for sports betting is just over
37%. Meanwhile, casino’s monthly progression has
alongside the growing number of actives per
month, would suggest market sustainability.
The figures also confirm Spain as one of the
made steadier and more predictable progress, most progressive markets in Europe, even if total
with June’s GGY of €20.2m coming close to the revenues remain relatively low. A quick regulated
all-time record achieved in March this year, when market comparison (see Table 4) shows that
the monthly total came to €20.6m. Spain’s per capita regulated market gambling
The year-on-year comparison for the months
spend figure is about €12, compared with €14 in
in question is interesting. It shows a gradual France, where there is a much more restrictive
decrease in the percentage year-on-year rise, regime in place.
not surprising, perhaps, as the product reaches
towards market maturity (see Chart 8 opposite).
As can be seen, the trend line has shifted from
Growth from here is likely, though whether that
comes in the third quarter is debatable, given
the strength of the second quarter. The average
Table 4: European regulated market comparisons
Country 2017 market GGR
(€m) Pop. (m) Per capita online
gambling spend (€) 2016 per capita GDP
($)
Portugal 123 10.3 11.89 23,117
Denmark 448 5.73 78.18 61,582
Spain 561 46.6 12.03 32,405
France 962 66.9 14.38 42,568
Source: DGOJ
iGaming Business Market Monitor • December 2018
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