Spain: the profile of the online gambler according to the Directorate General for the Regulation of Gaming

The Directorate General for the Regulation of Gaming (DGOJ) published on 27 June its updated annual report providing information on the characteristics and behaviour of online gamblers in Spain.

The report provides valuable information on the average Spanish player in the online gambling market. 

The average Spanish online gambler is typically an adult male between 25 and 35 years old with an average monthly spend of less than 48 euros, who uses debit cards to make his deposits and who shares entertainment with almost 1.6 million Spaniards.

It also highlights that the majority of players participate in online gambling on an occasional basis rather than on a regular basis.
In terms of preferences, the report highlights that sports betting and casino (live roulette and slots) are the most popular form of online gambling.

The number of players who participate in the National Lottery (76% of those of legal age) and their average spending on draws such as Christmas (over €100 in many regions) outstrip regulated online gambling in absolute terms.
As for the use of payment methods, 74% use their bank card (VISA or Mastercard), showing that the arrival of Bizum and the incidence of other e-wallets (PayPal, Skrill...) have not managed to displace what has always been a payment method associated with entertainment and e-commerce.

Activity in Spain

The report establishes 1,595,093 active gamblers as the base figure for the calculations, a figure that shows an annual growth rate of 8.44%, 83% of whom are men and over 85% of whom are aged between 18 and 45. Beyond the clearly defined profile (male between 18 and 45 years old), by gaming segment, we observe that sports betting (counterparty, with special emphasis on live betting) is the favourite game for the majority of citizens, followed by the two leading games in the casino vertical (slots and live roulette).

Poker remains steady with a stable activity figure since 2012. Only 386,411 new players have been counted in 2022, showing the difficulty due to the Royal Decree on Commercial Communications to capture the attention of new customers in mass communication campaigns, but in this past year, with the World Cup as a trigger, the figure is estimated to be much higher than what should happen in 2023 and 2024.

Moderate spending

The average annual expenditure of 574 euros (less than 48 euros per month and around 11 euros per week) is one of the most important figures reflected in the Report. The distribution of this expenditure and activity by vertical is extremely interesting to understand the situation of the sector, something that can be seen in the Quarterly Reports of the DGOJ, but that in this report - in addition - attempts to discover behavioural patterns among players who mostly do show a willingness to play casino and bingo games together; albeit due to the preponderance of sports betting.

With regard to the average expenditure, there is a clear difference between the sexes: while men spend an average of 626 euros per year, women spend an average of 320 euros. We also see a higher expenditure by age between 36 and 45 years, while young people between 18 and 25 years barely reach 269 euros per year.

Spending Ranks

This is the one that relates the spending ranges to the total number of players, which as we have seen does not exceed 1.6 million citizens. Unlike what happens in SELAE's games, in the private online gambling sector, up to 20% of players manage to end the year with net profits, while 80% make a loss, albeit very low for the most part (less than €100 for the vast majority).

Let's remember that in the National Lottery draws, the probability of winning is extremely low, with games such as the Quiniela, where the probability of winning the full lottery is one in almost five million; or the Lotería Primitiva with a probability of one in 14 million or El Cuponazo, with a probability of one in 15 million.

In summary, the DGOJ report sheds light on the average Spanish online gambler, their level of activity and their preferences within the regulated gambling market. 

This information is valuable for understanding the dynamics of the online gambling industry in Spain and making informed decisions.

More details here: https://www.ordenacionjuego.es/es/informe-jugador-online