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Spanish market

William Hill has already started its expansion into Spain, more and more Spanish soccer teams are sponsored by online gambling companies, … - these are just a few of many clear signs that the gambling industry starts to focus on Spain for future growth.

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 liberalization might be possible in the short term. Many operators surveyed mentioned Spain as a particularly attractive jurisdiction for such an expansion.

The following are some reasons why Spain is perceived as so attractive:

-        Increasing liberalization - Many autonomous regions in Spain are working toward a liberalization of the market, particularly the betting sector as well as interactive gambling could benefit from that.

-        William Hill and other big players are already poised for expansion into Spain - Many international companies, such as William Hill or 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 - 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% larger than its current size (CAGR of 71%).

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% (CAGR of 36%) over the current level.

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

Online Casual Gaming and Gambling on the Internet - Skill Gaming, Online Bingo, and Others

With other growth sectors in the gaming and gambling industry, such as online poker and betting exchanges, maturing and with gambling legislations getting more complex, the search is on for other as yet unpolished gems. According to many experts, casual gaming and gambling, among them, for example, skill gaming, online bingo, and fantasy sports, will trigger the next growth spurt in the industry.

• The experts estimate the current market size for casual gaming and gambling (skill gaming and online bingo) to be about USD 500 million with more than 8 million regular players playing for cash.
• By 2010 the casual gaming and gambling market is expected to grow to ca. USD 1 billion.
• Casual gaming as attractive product option for state lotteries and private operators - Another reason for the growing relevance of the casual gaming sector is that regulations and laws regarding gambling are getting more and more complex and are forcing state lotteries as well as private companies to look for alternative products to their traditional gambling offerings.

Millions of potential casual gamers and gamblers are not yet targeted by the industry - As the market for heavy punters and gamblers becomes more saturated, the industry begins to focus on casual gamers and gamblers

• and especially on women.
• Growing number of investors - Almost every week high-caliber companies, such as media giants Liberty and Burda, as well as private equity companies, such as Apax, are investing in the casual gaming sector.
• The evaluation of relevant casual gaming sites showed that the number of games offered varies widely, that customer service/support is in some cases not satisfactory, and that only very few sites offer languages other than English.

Europe will be the most important region for future growth , according to 91% of the experts.

Online Poker – Driving Gambling to New Heights

Gambling reinvents itself constantly, and online poker is the product that seems to be the current guarantor of future growth rates. What began as triumphant advance in the USA is now leading to a global poker wave on the Internet:

• Poker will soon be the dominant online gambling offer. More than 60% of the industry experts surveyed believe that online poker will be the dominant offer in online gambling in 2-3 years.
• The amount gambled on poker websites around the world in 2005 is estimated to be more than USD 60 billion, and the commission revenues will be around USD 3 billion.
• Poker shows are a success on TV. Examples of successful poker TV shows include the World Series of Poker on ESPN and the European Poker Tour on Eurosport.
• Online site Paradise Poker was recently sold for about USD 300 million, and whispers of a poker site IPO with an estimated evaluation between USD 4 billion and USD 8 billion are making online poker a business to watch closely.

As the success of online poker revs up, the gambling industry’s traditional operators (e.g., William Hill, Ladbrokes, …) are quickly adding poker to their online offerings.