SBC News Voice of the Sports Betting Industry
The regulated Spanish gaming market continues to grow at a rapid pace, and while international operators clamour to gain a foothold in the market, those already established on the Iberian Peninsula are increasingly looking to leverage opportunities across the Atlantic.
Speaking at this week’s Betting on Football event in London, Christian Tirabassi, senior partner at Ficom Leisure, said Spain’s Directorate General for the Regulation of Gambling (DGOJ) has opened the window for operators looking to gain entrance to the market.
“The market has been extremely fast growing,” he stated. “Total regulated betting today is about €500m, of which a little less than half is online and the rest is retail. There are many opportunities for growth.”
Also on the panel, Daniel Graetzer, executive director of Mediatech Solutions, said: “A lot of the big land-based Spanish operators are ramping up their presence online. Every major chain is pushing in this direction, and there is a really big opportunity there for an omni-channel market.”
As operators fight to gain a foothold in Spain, the strength of the country’s football league and the country’s cultural affinity with those in Latin America is presenting further opportunities for the industry.
“Operators are leapfrogging from Spain to Latin America via marketing campaigns,” Tirabassi said. “In Spain, we see an affinity with Latin America for cultural reasons, and many Spanish companies are now looking at the betting segment there.”
Gregory Bolle, head of global partnership sales for La Liga, highlighted the internalisation of the Primera División: “There are two levels of opportunities: the domestic market, which is growing massively, and also the opportunity that we offer betting operators on a global platform.”
“Betting in football is crucial as we mobilise our brand, and there is a natural feed with the Latin American market.”
