Gambling in Spain Is the Number-One eCommerce Activity — Report

Posted on: April 12, 2022, 05:46h. 

Last updated on: April 13, 2022, 01:45h.

Erik Gibbs Read More
Expertise: Asia Pacific Gaming, Gaming Business, Global Gaming.

The gambling industry is big business in Spain. According to a new report by the country’s National Commission on Markets and Competition, gambling and sports betting comprise a segment that leads all others in eCommerce activity.

Spanish flag
Two Spanish flags fly in the wind. The county’s commercial industry gained ground year. Leading the way in transactions was the gambling segment. (Image: Shutterstock)

It pays to be involved in gambling in Spain. As much as some people like to think the legal gaming market doesn’t provide any benefits, studies prove otherwise. Casino gambling and sports betting provide forms of entertainment and employment to hundreds of thousands of people around the globe.

There are also direct economic benefits to gambling that come into play. An industry worth over $165 billion a year is too big to be ignored. For Spain, it’s also the biggest part of the eCommerce segment, making it vital for its growth.

Spain Gambling is Big Business

The economic activity of gambling and betting is the one that features in more eCommerce transactions in Spain, according to Spain’s National Commission on Markets and Competition (CNMC, for its Spanish acronym). This makes it even bigger than restaurants and shopping centers.

The CNMC’s report is based on data from the third quarter of last year. The country recorded 284 million transactions for the gaming segment during that period. This represents an increase of 10% over the same period of 2020. Gambling and betting led the ranking by sales with 6.9%. Restaurants were close behind at 6.5%, and department stores took third with 6.2%.

The result was an increase in overall turnover for the eCommerce segment in Spain. It added 14.8% over its prior-year figure, achieving €14.7 million (US$15.96 million).

This also led to an increase in revenue for the eCommerce sector. It increased by 15.6% over the same period in 2020, closing at €4.9 million (US$5.3 million).

Tourism An Important Economic Driver

The sectors of activity with the highest revenues were travel agencies and tour operators, with 6.9% of total turnover. Clothing was close behind with 6.5%, and services ancillary to financial intermediation (such as electronic marketplaces for buying and selling stocks, etc.) were in third place with 5.5%.

In terms of geographical segmentation, 44.6% of the revenue in the third quarter of 2021 was destined for Spain. The remaining 55.4% corresponded to purchases originating in Spain made abroad.

As a result, Spain has consumer products the global market wants. The net external balance shows a deficit of €6.49 million (US$7.05 million).

By number of transactions, 35.1% of sales are destined for Spain and 64.8% abroad. The turnover of transactions originating in Spain and directed abroad was €8.14 million (US$8.84 million). This figure is 16.5% higher than in the third quarter of 2020. Of that number, 88.8% of purchases from Spain abroad originate in shops located in the European Union.

The branches of activity with the highest turnover from Spain abroad are clothing (9.1%), services ancillary to financial intermediation (9.1%) and hotels and similar accommodation (5.5%).

On the other hand, sales from abroad in Spain had a turnover of €1.65 billion (US$1.79 billion). This is a year-on-year uptick of 5.1%.

Likewise, the areas of activity related to the tourism sector were extremely important as well. This group, which includes travel agencies, air and land transport, car rentals, and hotels, accounted for 55.2% of purchases from abroad in Spain.

Gambling in Spain Remains Popular

Annual studies show that the Spanish population enjoys gambling. Consistently from 2010 to 2020, according to Statista, more than 80% of the public participated in gambling annually. In 2021, the figure was 80.9%, slightly down from the 84.9% recorded a year earlier.

Despite the high penetration of gambling, problem gambling remains virtually imperceptible. When Spain’s Carlos III University conducted a gambling survey in 2020, it found that less than 1% of gamblers could fall into the “problem gambling” segment.