Online Gaming Revenues Soar in Spain, But Online Poker Continues To Struggle
Online gaming revenues are on the rise in Spain, according to the Q4 2015 report from Spanish gaming regulator Directorate General for the Regulation of Gambling (DGOJ).
The Spanish online gaming market recorded €94.76 million in the fourth quarter of 2015, representing a huge 44.54-percent increase from the €65.57 million recognized during the same period in 2014. This also represented a respectable 12.58-percent increase from the €84.18 million in gross gaming revenue that online gaming realized during the third quarter of 2015.
Along with revenues, deposits to Spanish online gaming sites were also up in a similar proportion. The DGOJ reported €242.07 million in deposits during the fourth quarter of 2015, representing a 39.71-percent increase from the €173.27 million deposited during the fourth quarter of 2014 and a 17.63-percent increase from the third quarter of 2015.
Much of the increases in gross gaming revenue can potentially be attributed to a sizable increase in marketing expenditures. Online gaming operators spent €23.27 million in marketing during the fourth quarter of 2015, representing a 15.59-percent increase from the €20.13 million spent during the same period a year prior and a 29.40-percent increase from the €17.99 million spent during the third quarter of 2015.
Online Poker in Spain Continues to Struggle
While it is true that online gaming operators as a whole have reason to celebrate the market increases, those operators that focus on online poker continue to struggle.
The DGOJ reported that Spanish gross gaming revenues from online poker declined by 12.46 percent from €16.63 million during the fourth quarter of 2014 when compared to €14.56 million recognized during the fourth quarter of 2015.
However, things may not be all that bad since online poker gross gaming revenues increased by a nominal 0.98 percent from the third quarter's revenues of €14.42 million.
Online gaming operators that focus on the Spanish market are hoping for a brighter future, keeping their eyes on Portuguese and French online poker gaming regulations. Legislators from both countries are reportedly considering allowing shared liquidity with other countries, including Spain.
If shared liquidity comes through, PokerStars is in the best position to take advantage due to operating by far the biggest online poker room in Spain. In the French marketplace, PokerStars operates the second largest just behind Winamax.fr.
Stay tuned at PokerNews for more developments in the Spanish gaming marketplace.
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