SPAIN MARKET REPORT SPAIN
Population 46.8m Under 15 7.1m Aged 15-64 31.7m Urban population 77 percent Major cities Madrid (5.8m), Barcelona (5m) GDP per capita $29,499 Business climate Although rapid economic modernisation since the end of the Franco era has given Spain a per-capita GDP comparable with its European neighbours’, it was one of the nations worst affected by the economic downturn, with a sharp reduction in GDP during 2009 and continuing, albeit smaller, losses in 2010. That has shaken confidence hard, and unemployment has soared. The large swathes of the world speaking Spanish (albeit sometimes a slightly different form from that found in Spain) position the nation well as a content exporter. Spain is divided into 17 autonomous communities which bear most of the responsibility for gaming regulation, meaning that companies moving into this country must deal with multiple jurisdictions.
Gaming in Spain was worth some ¤27bn in 2010. Although this represented a fall of more than nine percent on the previous year, it remains a considerable chunk of GDP, and not all sectors of the gaming industry were hit equally. Type B slots (see below) were badly affected by the downturn, losing some 15 percent of their income year-on-year. In total, the AWPs market is worth about ¤3.7bn. By contrast, lotteries and sportsbooks lost less than three
percent. Casino gaming was down about seven percent, yet the country’s 40-odd casinos actually saw total visits increasing slightly, by 225,000 to 4.3m.
www.euroslot-online.com
The bingo sector, comprising some 400 halls, was down about eight percent. The overall picture appears to be one of a very substantial, but slightly declining, offline gaming market. That decline may be speeded by the arrival this year of significant new legislation for online gaming.
Gaming machines Gaming machines are divided into three types: A, B and C.
Type C are casino slots, so the amusements market in arcades, gaming halls and bars is therefore dominated by Type A and B machines. Type A are purely for entertainment, and offer no prizes. In 2010 there were about 77,000 of these. Type B are AWPs, typically returning about ¤0.70 in the euro
to the customer. In 2010 there were about 240,000 of these, many of them in locations such as bars which have only three machines at most. That figure fell from 247,000 in the previous year, reflecting dire economic conditions. In addition to these locations there are about 450 amusement
arcades – a figure that dropped almost 15 percent year-on-year, with 75 establishments closing – and nearly 2600 gaming arcades in the country. Their number stayed essentially stable year-on-year.
Betting Spain’s sports betting market emphasises live betting, which
accounts for about half the market. There are more than 1500 sports betting terminals in operation.
Smoking ban Spain introduced in January 2011 a new smoking ban much
stricter than its predecessor. Anecdotal evidence is that this is particularly affecting the bingo market.
Liberalisation Revenue-raising imperatives have led many of the
autonomous communities to allow new forms of gaming. For example, Valencia was a pioneer in permitting sports betting in
18 SEPTEMBER 2011
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32