- Online poker in Spain generated €19.4 million in gross gaming revenue (GGR) during the second quarter of 2019.
- Following the record-breaking year of 2018, 2019 seems to be only slightly behind pace.
- Tournament poker had its biggest quarter-over-quarter decline in Q2.
Online poker in Spain generated €19.4 million in gross gaming revenue (GGR) during the second quarter of 2019, according to figures released this week by the Directorate General for the Regulation of Gambling (DGOJ).
GGR from April through June represents the first time in the last four quarters that gross gaming revenue from online poker in Spain failed to grow from the previous quarter.
However, the decline from the first quarter to the second is typical in the market with the trend holding true ever since the opened in 2012.
Following the record-breaking year of 2018 during which the market generated nearly €81.4 million in revenue, 2019 seems to be only slightly behind pace after two quarters. Though operators would need to post record numbers in the final two quarters to surpass 2018, another record-breaking year in 2019 is certainly within reach.
Tournament poker had its biggest quarter-on-quarter decline in Q2, dropping €1.7 million to just above €12 million for the quarter. While that figure was the lowest in six quarters, it still ranks higher than any quarter prior to 2018. The down quarter represents the first time that tournament poker fees have posted a year-over-year loss since Q1 2016, breaking the streak of 12 consecutive quarters of gains.
On the other hand, GGR from cash games returned to annual growth with a 6.5% gain after a down Q1. However, as a percentage of the overall online poker market, revenue from cash games still trails its tournament counterpart 38% to 62%.
Online casino game revenue continued its streak of annual growth for every quarter since the market opened. Q2 2019 grew by more than 22% over the same period last year.
The total new igaming accounts registered in Q2 reached more than 707,000, and while that figure represents quite a falloff from the record number of new accounts created last quarter (nearly 822,000), it is still higher than all other quarters before the start of 2018 except Q3 2017 when new accounts rose to nearly 710,000.
