Female Gamblers in Spain Catching Up on Men

Female player base in Spain increases with the addition of online slots (Image: CalvinAyre.com).

Male population has been the main focus group of Spain’s regulated online gaming market, but while men remain in majority at the country’s licensed online gambling venues, it appears that female players are slowly closing the gap.

The latest report from the Spanish gaming regulator Direccion General de Ordenacion del Juego (DGOJ) has revealed that 83 percent of people who play at licensed websites in the country are men.

However, the report also showed a staggering 53.5 percent increase in the number of female gamers, which appears to have been the result of the introduction of online slots midway through 2015.

While the regulated market in the country launched in 2012, it was only in June 2015 that websites offering online slots and exchange betting were issued first licenses.

The first signs of said decision are already evident and it appears that online slot games are slowly becoming the favourite pastime of female gamers in Spain.

Online Market in Spain Picking Up Steam

The introduction of slots also had a very positive effect on online casino participation levels that rose 80.4% in 2015, while bingo (37.6%) and sports betting (34.4%) also saw very good numbers, as opposed to the poker vertical, which saw a 2.1% fall.

There are now around 985,000 active player accounts between all licensed operators in Spain, with the active players monthly average rising by 16.2 percent. The interesting thing is that 70% of players only had one gaming account, i.e. were only playing at a single operator.

When it comes to the average expenditure per year, the figure was €293, with male gamers spending €322 on average as opposed to €146 spent by their fame counterparts.

It appears that multiple gaming verticals are still not popular among Spanish gamblers, seeing as how some 60% of all active accounts were involved in a single gaming vertical, with the majority of these placing sports bets.