- Online poker in Spain generated €21.2 million in GGR during the first quarter of 2019.
- Revenue from tournament poker accounted for €13.7 million, exceeding the previous high of €13.1 million collected in the first quarter last year.
- Cash game revenue dipped to €7.4 million, down by half a million Euros from Q4 2018 and down €1 million from the same period last year.
Online poker in Spain generated €21.2 million in gross gaming revenue (GGR) during the first quarter of 2019, according to figures released this week by the Directorate General for the Regulation of Gambling (DGOJ).
The first three months of the year represent the second largest quarter on record for the Spanish online poker market, trailing only Q1 2018 when online operators in the country drew in €21.5 million from tournament fees and rake at cash game tables.
Revenue from tournament poker accounted for €13.7 million, exceeding the previous high of €13.1 million collected in the first quarter last year. Cash game revenue dipped to €7.4 million, down by half a million Euros from Q4 2018 and down €1 million from the same period last year.
As a percentage of the overall online poker market, revenue from tournaments came in at 64.8%, marking the largest disparity between the two online poker formats since the market opened in 2012.
On an annual basis, overall revenue from poker for the quarter was down slightly (1.4%). Though poker tournament revenue exhibited growth (5%) for the tenth straight quarter, revenue at the cash game tables was down 11.4%.
The decline of annual cash game revenue broke a full year of annual increases realized in 2018, but the growth of the market following the advent of shared liquidity with France and Portugal put an end to a streak of 17 consecutive quarters during which GGR for 10 of those quarters dropped more than 10%.
On a monthly basis, the €7.6 million collected in January represented the best start to the year of any January on record, but he €6.7 million and €6.9 million collected in February and March respectively lagged behind the same months in 2018.
The total new igaming accounts registered in Q1 reached nearly 822,000 which broke the record set in Q2 2018 of 804,000.
