MADRID: According to Spanish online gambling regulators Dirección General de Ordenación del Juego (DGOJ), 2015 full year gross gaming revenue results results were up 26% with sports betting handle leading the way.
Spain’s Online Gambling Market Posts 26% Increase in Annual RevenueThe Dirección General de Ordenación del Juego (DGOJ), Spain’s regulated online gambling market, released their full-year 2015 report with a thumbs up as revenues increased by 26% year-on-year.
Before moving on to those full year results lets bring you up to speed on Q4 figures: gross gaming revenue (GGR) was up 40% to €94.7m. The breakdown was €53.5m (sportsbook), €22.6m (casino), €14.5m (poker), and €2.1m (bingo).
Back to those 2015 results in full and the DGOJ posted gross gaming revenue of €319.6 million, with turnover exceeding €8 billion, an increase of 28% year-on-year (€6.7 billion).
Sports betting was the jewel in the crown with €179m in revenue showing a 40% increase on 2014. The continued success of the online slot launch circa Q2 & Q3 continued to ripen with revenue for casino games up 80% to €67.5m. Poker shrunk to €59.8m, and bingo also fell to €7.8m.
The poker numbers continue to slide reminding everyone of the ineptitude behind the decision to segregate the market. Online revenue accrued through poker only accounts for 15% of total online revenues. Casino games account for 24% of GGR with sports betting leading the way with 56% of total revenue.
The only way these figures will start rising sharply is if Spain opens up their cyber doors to allow shared liquidity on poker sites. It seems Spanish hopes might lie in the hands of the French. A recent article in PokerNews suggested that the French gaming regulator Autorité de régulation des jeux en ligne (ARJEL) were set to create an amendment to a digital bill scheduled to be handed to the French lawmakers in April.
The amendment would allow French online poker rooms to share liquidity with other .eu ring-fenced sites such as Spain, Italy and the soon to be segregated Portugeuse market.
