DGOJ publishes activity report 2019
Needless to say, the first half of this year 2020 is going to leave some fairly lean results for the sector. The economic crisis caused by the coronavirus pandemic will be the main culprit. The General Directorate of Gaming Regulation (DGOJ) has just published the annual activity report of the gaming industry for 2019. We review the most relevant data and information.
As part of its commitment to transparency and public access to information, the DGOJ regularly publishes quarterly and annual gaming industry reports. ©Lukas/Pexels
Marked by some political instability with two general elections, in April and November, the year 2019 could seem transitional for an industry that was waiting for what the new government had to propose to the sector.
With the victory of the PSOE and the announcement of the government pact with Unidas Podemos, which at that time would put Alberto Garzón, federal coordinator of Izquierda Unida, in charge of the Ministry of Consumption, from the main associations and media of the sector the voices of alarm jumped . The most critical saw in the policies that the new ministry intended to implement a clear “discrediting the game” and they accused Garzon of wanting to “criminalize” to the sector.
After the first months of government marked, as far as the industry and the iGaming sector are concerned, by the announcement of the Royal Decree on Commercial Communications of Gaming Activities which regulates the advertising of the sector and that was widely criticized, today the controversies of the past are seen with new eyes.
The industry is facing one of the toughest times in its recent history. With the online game in moose, although no bonuses or other promotional incentives as provided by the government, following in this similar measures carried out by other European countries, the question now is to recover gambling and face-to-face betting.
With the de-escalation plan underway after the confinement forced by the pandemic, it is a question of knowing in which phase of the plan gambling establishments will be included. Although they would have liked to have been able to start opening in phase I, next to commerce and hospitality, due to the similarities with the latter sector, the truth is that they will have to wait.
However, they will most likely do it in phase II and III depending on its capacity , according to an information from the Ministry of Consumption collected by the diary . From the Ministry they consider gambling venues as leisure establishments and in no case do they equate them with the hospitality industry.
From the employers of the online gaming sector, Jdigital, they point out that revenues have fallen by 50% to 80% since the confinement and mainly due to the government ban on advertising. Although the truth is that these data have more to do with the collapse of sports betting, since there are no competitions to bet on. Something of which, evidently, the Ministry of Consumption has no art or part.
2020 is going to be a tough year for the sector, there is no doubt about that. But the data just published by the DGOJ with respect to the previous year invite optimism.
The DGOJ's commitment to transparency
The document that can be download directly from the page of the electronic headquarters of the DGOJ, it presents the most relevant data in relation to the market the gambling industry.
In its presentation, the DGOJ emphasizes, once again, the importance of its activity, as well as its public commitment:
"Practically all of 2019 corresponded to phases of the electoral period, or of the acting Government, which in principle would have influenced the capacity for political and strategic momentum of the General Directorate's projects. However, the data reveal that the activity of the same not only did not suffer but increased, according to all indicators of effort; in some cases, exponentially. In short, the publication of these data aims to make visible our commitment to society, facilitate the necessary contrast of our activity and aspire that it is carried out in the future more effectively and efficiently from the resources we have, for the benefit of all.” – Juan Espinosa , Director General, DGOJ
Among the highlights is the considerable growth of live roulette to the gross gaming revenue (better known by its acronym in English GGR, or Gross Gaming Revenue). Roulette games with live dealers increased by 25%, as well as slot machines - by 20%.
Although the matching bets they are still the favorite activity of the players of our country, there is a stagnant trend for which, undoubtedly, the increase in gambling in online casinos has something to blame, 14.87% more with respect to the previous year, with 51 operators in the field regulated by the DGOJ.
With poker in your line, it is to highlight the the fall of bingo by more than 11%. The one just published by the DGOJ is a most interesting report that we will be shelling out in future editions.
