Scrambling for Spain

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SCRAMBLE FOR SPAIN

With renewed focus on Europe, this survey may come in handy


The Spanish online gambling market is poised to grow to a tempting Euro 4.2 billion by the year 2010, according to a new study released this week by the Munich-based MECN research company, putting the country high on the target list for marketers now excluded from the American market by recent legislation.

MECN defines Spain as a key region for future growth, with overall gambling potential by 2010 reaching Euro 39 billion.

The study reveals that William Hill group has already started its expansion into Spain, and a growing number of Spanish soccer teams are being sponsored by online gambling companies.

After the recent legal conflicts in traditional gambling markets a key strategic option is the expansion into less restrictive jurisdictions or into regions where an increased liberalisation is possible in the short term. Many operators surveyed mentioned Spain as a particularly attractive jurisdiction for such an expansion.

MECN gives the following reasons for marketers to re-focus on Spain:

* Many autonomous regions in Spain are working toward a liberalisation of the market, and particularly the betting sector and interactive gambling could benefit from that.

* William Hill and other big players are already poised for expansion into Spain, and other international companies, such as Betbull/BWin, already have joint venture agreements in place and are poised to take advantage of the market in Spain.

* Growth potential, especially for retail betting and interactive gambling is good. Overall Spain’s gambling market is expected to grow to Euro 39 billion by 2010. By 2010 the retail betting market is expected to grow to ca. Euro 4.5 billion, which is more than 750 percent larger than its current size (CAGR of 71 percent).

The other growth driver will be interactive gambling, which is expected to reach ca. Euro 4.2 billion by 2010, a growth of ca. 240 percent (CAGR of 36 percent) over the current level.

* Spain’s lottery market is one of the largest in the world and can boast impressive per-capita sales.