Spain: A new bull market?

Spain is an increasingly attractive market for operators and suppliers alike; with bright forecasts for the market’s future following its regulation in 2012. We sit down with Ruben Loeches, CMO at R. Franco Group, Spain’s most established gaming company, to get the lowdown on the market they dominate.

Spain is touted by some as the industry’s latest bull market – as Spain’s most established gaming company, what’s your take on the market’s development so far?

Spain’s current expansion is unprecedented; we’re seeing a 20.10% increase in terms of GGR, mostly due to the ever-growing popularity of sports betting online, which is currently above 25% in GGR.

Of course, there’s an increase in new customers, but we’re also seeing an exponential trend of players becoming ambassadors for the transition to online, which is in turn the catalyst for a very interesting multiplier effect within their own social circles, with more of their friends signing up to the digital world as a consequence. This is definitely indicative of the new generation of players getting involved in iGaming – and represents fantastic potential beyond the traditional bastion of sports betting.

Plenty of supports suggest that there is room for further growth here, where do the opportunities lie in Spain for operators?

In my view – the future of gaming is all about omnichannel. None more so than in Spain, The ability to bridge the retail and digital environment is by far the greatest opportunity in regulated markets, and one that every operator should be focusing on.
Companies that already have an established retail presence hold a great advantage here as it gives the proposition of choice to the player in whether they interact with their brand of choice online or offline, and ensures they are always present as part of the customer journey. Tie this in the with the opportunity to promote your brand through the activation of sponsorships, more and more potential customers will be open to getting involved in sports betting.

How will the ban on advertising affect the way the Spanish gaming sector does business? how do you expect to overcome these regulatory tailwinds? Do measures need to be put in place to mitigate this risk?

Given the Spanish passion for sport and gaming, and everything that comes with it, there will always be opportunity. Of course, these regulatory tailwinds will certainly necessitate operators and suppliers to rethink their strategies.

For us, we would suggest a measured approach, think much more where you invest your money, be much more strict with the monitoring of your metrics and in the analysis of your traffic sources, and above all, give much more value of the leads that you can get or have achieved in the different phases of a client’s life (acquisition, conversion, retention and reactivation).

Of course, the government’s regulatory obstacles will stifle growth, but with every challenge comes opportunity, and as long as resources are shifted to place more emphasis on acquisition – then risks can be easily mitigated.

R. Franco was one of the first platform suppliers to go live in Colombia once the market opened, what other opportunities do you see for LatAm, and how does being Spain’s most famous gaming company help?

The Latino world lives and breathes sport like no other. Our habits in Spain are very similar and this is represented in the way we both bet, and for us – Latin America will always be our secondary region to operate. The learning curve we’ve acquired in all these years allows us to implement processes, methodologies and strategies that fit the market perfectly. The cost saving benefits here for us over nearly any competitor from outside of this world are immense, as we avoid the loss of budget in unnecessary marketing campaigns that others would have to do to reach a market where there is little knowledge or experience.