Spain will Lose a Half of its Gambling Income
The casino sector sees a 50% decline relative to the new Yearbook of Gaming in Spain 2020 published for 2019.
Spanish Gambling Faces Pandemic Struggles
Spain's gambling industry group, Cejuego, and University Carlos III of Madrid have published a updated forecast of the country's gambling market, revealing a 50% decrease in gambling income, a result of more rigorous consumer safety policies, financial difficulty, and lack of gambling facilities as well.
The Spain 2020 Yearbook of Gaming, compiled by José Antonio Gómez Yáñez, warned that gambling is one of the country's most severely affected industries. The path to rehabilitation will be a long one for gaming companies, and not least because of new government steps, according to Yáñez.
The report's author clarified that the new lockdown data showed that gamblers during the lockdown weren't vulnerable to unsafe activities. He also clarified that the casino industries were one of the first to close and last to open, not taking into account the second wave of coronavirus that caused new closures.
Lashing out at the industry could be unwise, Yáñez said, remembering that the gaming sector is adding about €1.13 billion in revenues to the societies and another €600 million in income. The professor compared the gaming business to "milking a cow," and said it should not be overly overburdened.
Yáñez confirmed that Spain has no gambling problem, and that only 0.3% of all gamblers have or show gambling activity with difficulties. He also noted that the number of young people is around 17% of the population while the total is around 24% for Europe.
Numbers Fall Double In The First 10 Months
Based on those estimates, the figures fell to €4.35 billion in gross sales over the first ten months of the month, or down 50% year-over-year. Gaming companies generated some €2,45 billion while the national lotteries Organización Nacional de Ciegos Españoles (ONCE) and Sociedad Estatal Loterías y Apuestas del Estado (SELAE) added €1,90 billion in addition.
Gaming remains a tiny part of the country's GDP, but in recent years it has reported stable growth, with sales steadily increasing after Spain's most recent economic crisis. The study factored in and claimed that an all-time record was also the performance of 2019.
In 2019, bingo halls and hospitality business equipment were the biggest source of sales, with 84,797 people working in the sector. The population was once again divided between private-owned corporations and state-controlled agencies.
Despite a decline in results, Spain's online gambling numbers rose in October, with nation reporting rising 17.7% year-over-year, and online gambling in the pandemic has generally been doing well.
