A ministry report in Spain has revealed that the country witnessed a 21.6% rise in online gambling activity through 2024, with the number of players now close to reaching two million.
The figures were published by Spain’s Ministry of Social Rights, Consumer Affairs, and 2030 Agenda and the government report suggests that the steep rise in active online players to 1,991,500 is as a result of the reintroduction of welcome bonuses in April last year, .
Spanish gambling operators generated £6.95 billion (EUR8 billion) in gross gaming revenue through 2024 and state-licensed online gambling contributed around £1.26 billion to that total.
Online casinos generated £634.7 million, with sports betting adding £528.9 million and poker games a further £86.7 million.
The rise of 23.8% in online betting revenues was the highest increase among all the gambling segments.
What Is Spain’s Issue With Welcome Bonuses?
Spain’s 2020 Royal Decree imposed strict limits on promotional advertising by the gambling industry.
Under those limits, gambling companies were not allowed to offer welcome bonuses as the government attempted to take a firm grip on an apparent rise in problem gambling behaviour.
A report by the Harm Reduction Journal in 2023 suggested that the implementation of the Royal Decree was responsible for a 55% drop in new gambling accounts opened between 2020 and 2023.
That all changed in April 2024, after Jdigital, Spain’s online gambling trade association, challenged how some elements of the Royal Decree had been applied as federal law.
The Spanish Supreme Court agreed, partially annulling the Decree and ruling that certain restrictions on promotional advertising should be regulated by law.
With the decree lifted, Spain’s gambling industry invested heavily in promoting customer offers, spending £457 million on marketing in 2024.
From that total, £226.7 million was put towards promotions, £176.3 million on advertising and £48.6 million on affiliate marketing.
The result was a 23.48% increase in the number of active accounts on a monthly basis, which rose to 1.43 million.
New account registrations also rose sharply, averaging 151,898 per month, a bump up of 34.73%.
Government Bid To Restrict Promotions Again
While the gambling companies will have been encouraged by the newly generated business, government reaction has been one of concern.
Speaking after the Supreme Court’s ruling last year, Pablo Bustinduy, Spain’s Minister of Social Rights and Consumer Affairs, announced that he intended to reintroduce and enhance the restrictions on gambling advertising through legislative means.
Spain imposed over £123.3 million (EUR142 million) in fines on unlicensed gambling operators through 2024.
Bustinduy repeated his intentions in December last year, saying: “We are going to recover those articles that the Supreme Court considered did not have the necessary regulatory rank.”
He also revealed that he was against betting companies using social media for promotions with celebrities and welcome offers, adding: “Everyone knows they are aimed especially at the younger public.”
Jim Munro is a betting industry and gambling expert who has been a national newspaper journalist for over 30 years, predominantly at The Sunday Times and The Sun, where he wrote a weekly soccer betting column. Jim also worked on the launch of Virgin Bet with Gamesys and was subsequently head of editorial at LiveScore, the sports media and betting group.
