Spain’s gambling regulator, the Directorate General for the Regulation of Gambling (DGOJ), has published its report for the first quarter of 2025, revealing gross gaming revenue (GGR) of €398.1 million. While this figure marks a 2.68% dip compared to Q4 2024, it reflects a solid 13.7% increase year-on-year.
Casino games remained the top-performing vertical, generating €203.06 million—just over half of the total GGR. This sector showed a strong annual increase of 20.64%, driven significantly by a 42.06% rise in slot machine activity. In quarterly terms, casino revenue saw a slight gain of 0.09%. Baccarat notably surged 33.77% from Q4 2024, while live and traditional roulette fell by 2.85% and 3.62%, respectively.
The sports betting segment followed closely, contributing €165.9 million or 41.67% of the total revenue. Year-on-year, this vertical saw growth of 11.17%, though it dropped 6.35% from the previous quarter. Fixed-odds sports betting increased modestly by 3.50%, but live betting fell by 15.62%. Other fixed-odds wagers dipped 34.09%, while horse racing bets grew by 16.62%.
Poker accounted for €25.52 million in GGR, representing 6.41% of the market. Despite a quarterly decline of just 0.11%, the segment shrank 10.31% compared to Q1 2024. Tournament poker fell 1.70% from the previous quarter and 6.28% annually, while cash poker posted a 4.54% quarter-on-quarter increase but dropped 19.81% year-on-year.
Bingo recorded the lowest contribution, at €3.63 million or 0.91% of the market. It saw a quarterly rise of 4.23% but was down 13.47% from the same period last year.
Player Activity and Marketing Budgets on the Rise
Q1 2025 saw notable increases in both player engagement and operator spending. Deposits grew by 23.85% compared to Q1 2024 and 8.13% over the previous quarter. Withdrawals climbed even higher—29.38% year-on-year and 10.64% quarter-on-quarter.
The average monthly number of active gaming accounts reached 1,748,252, a 12.63% increase from Q4 2024 and up 30.82% compared to Q1 2024. New account registrations averaged 190,456 per month—14.39% higher than the last quarter and up 38.05% year-on-year.
Operators ramped up marketing efforts, spending €164.86 million in total. This represents a 1.74% increase from Q4 and a sharp 43.97% rise over the year. Sponsorship investments surged 60.33% quarterly and 238.67% annually, while promotions rose by 14.70% quarter-over-quarter and 58.32% year-on-year. Advertising spend dipped 10.63% from the previous quarter but still grew 38.13% annually. Affiliate expenses fell in both timeframes—down 16.57% from Q4 and 7.19% from Q1 2024.
The breakdown of promotional expenses included €34.34 million in released prizes and €54.21 million in unreleased prizes.
Of the 77 licensed operators in Spain, 64 held at least one active license in Q1 2025. These were divided across segments as follows: 52 in casino, 41 in betting, 9 in poker, 4 in bingo, and 2 in contests.
DGOJ Highlights Player Protection at International Forum
In addition to publishing financial data, the DGOJ took part in an international conference held in Paris by France’s gambling regulator, the ANJ. At this event, the Spanish regulator introduced its new risk detection model aimed at identifying vulnerable players. The presentation highlighted Spain’s growing emphasis on responsible gambling practices across the European Union market.
Earlier in the year, the DGOJ also announced sanctions against 14 operators, resulting in €77.4 million in fines and temporary market bans lasting two years.
Source:
Summary T1-2025, ordenacionjuego.es, June 27, 2025.