"In Spain, regulated online gambling will generate over EUR 70,000 in 2024"

Last week Juan Espinosa García, current head of Spain’s gambling regulator Dirección General de Ordenación del Juego (DGOJ in Spanish), took part in a series of panels held by the Ceuta City Council, where he delivered a keynote address on the gambling industry, covering topics related to legislation and expectations for the industry’s future.

At the beginning of his talk, Espinosa congratulated Ceuta authorities on the comprehensive and coordinated efforts carried out for the promotion of the region as an investment destination and pointed out: “it is important for the city and businesses already settled in Ceuta or seeking to do so that they get to know our expectations and forecasts for the sector in Madrid," and added that even though those operators will be based in Ceuta, their business activities will be developed with a view towards Spain as a whole.

He said that in 2024, regulated online gambling is expected to generate over EUR 70,000 millIon (USD 77,800 million) on a global level, while currently, it produces around EUR 40,000 million (USD 44,400 million). He also pointed out that in accordance with a report by the National Commission on Markets and Competition (CNMC in Spanish) online gambling is the fourth sector in terms of relevance within the eCommerce segment. Moreover, he mentioned that online gambling in Spain saw a growth rate between 25% and 30%, but the number of users rose just between 5% and 7%, which means the same gamblers are spending more on online gambling every year.

Espinosa highlighted the industry’s strengths, including technology and innovation, which help guarantee online gamblers’ consumer protection, "something that brings additional and sustained legitimacy, which serves to refute allegations that gambling is detrimental to the society.” He concluded his keynote address announcing that the DGOJ as an organization is seeking to help and that in the near future, they hope to complement the regulation with reasonable standards that help to develop responsible gaming efforts, as well as technology, to achieve a safe environment for businesses and players alike.”