Spain’s online gambling market took a step backward in the third quarter, as sports betting was the only vertical to post a sequential gain.

Figures released Wednesday by Spain’s Dirección General de Ordenación del Juego (DGOJ) regulatory body show locally licensed online gambling operators generated revenue of €191.2m in the three months ending September 30, a modest 2.8% rise from the same period last year but down 5.6% from Q2 2020.

Sports betting reclaimed the revenue crown with €85.2m, down 15.4% year-on-year but up by one-quarter from Q2 2020. Pre-match betting took the biggest year-on-year hit, with revenue falling 21.4% to €31.5m while live betting was down 9% to €52.6m. Both segments posted sequential gains of nearly one-third apiece. 

Betting’s sequential surge came despite horserace betting actually producing negative revenue of €1.3m, despite racing turnover more than doubling year-on-year and nearly tripling sequentially.