Report: Lotteries remain the preferred gambling modal in Spain

It has been revealed that around 85% of adults in Spain gambled in 2019, with a strong preference over the SELAE and ONCE lottery draws. 

The data comes from the Study “Gambling and Society”, developed by sociology professor and member of the Institute of Politics and Governance of the Universidad Carlos III de Madrid José Antonio Gómez Yáñez, and by the lawyer and member of the Council for Policy Studies and Gaming Legislation, Carlos Lalanda.

As Europa Press reported, the data shows that the Lotería de Navidad was the most popular game in 2019, with 25.8 million buyers, followed by Lotería de El Niño with 14,5 million, Loterías Primitivas with 14 million and ONCE coupons with 8.5 million.

ONCE, for the second year in a row, attracted the youngest public among lottery draws in Spain, since 50.5% of buyers are under 35 years of age. In addition, it experienced a 9.9% increase in participation.

Furthermore, the study shows that gambling participation is still lower than the peak that was registered before the 2007 crisis, when 90% of Spaniards participated in games of chance.

“The vast majority of those who gamble, do so responsible, they know it has a cost, it’s like a ticket to go to a game,” said Gómez Yáñez during an exhibition promoted by the Gaming Business Council (Cejuego).

Moreover, the study revealed that online gambling spending represented 7.7% of the total pending in 2019, to €800m.

“The typical behaviour of people who gamble online settles: gaming sessions are shortened and the amounts spent remain at similar levels than any other hobby,” the study explained.