Gambling spend in the Basque Country reached €487 million in 2024, with online play estimated at €55 million

Total gambling spend by residents of the Basque Country rose to €487 million in 2024, up from €437 million in 2019. For PSPs and operators, the useful part is not just the top-line number: the online channel is now being tracked separately, and that makes the market easier to size, tax, and monitor.

1. According to Cejuego, resident spend across lotteries, betting, casinos, bingo, gaming machines, gaming halls, and online platforms reached €487 million in 2024, an increase of €50 million versus 2019.
2. In parallel, the Basque Government said the foral treasuries of Bizkaia, Gipuzkoa, and Álava collected €42.1 million in 2025 through the specific gambling tax, up 40.8% from €29.9 million in 2021. That is the highest level recorded since the pandemic.
3. The tax trend is still moving up in 2026: by June, collections had reached €22.9 million, compared with €21.3 million in the same period of the previous year. That is a 7.8% year-on-year increase.
4. Land-based gambling remains the biggest slice of the market. In 2024, physical venues and products — gaming halls, bingo, casinos, betting, and gaming machines — accounted for €282 million, up from €225 million in 2019, a cumulative rise of 25.3%.
5. State lotteries moved in the opposite direction. Spending on Loterías y Apuestas del Estado reached €123 million in 2024, including Lotería Nacional, the Christmas and El Niño draws, La Primitiva, Euromillones, Bonoloto, and La Quiniela, but this was 33.9% below the €186 million recorded in 2019. ONCE lotteries and coupons were steadier at €27 million in 2024, just €1 million above their 2019 level.

Online gambling is now a meaningful part of the Basque market too. Cejuego estimates online spend at €55 million in 2024, covering licensed operators’ websites and apps, mainly sports betting, online casino, slots, poker, and online bingo. The point for payment teams is straightforward: once a market starts getting broken out this cleanly, the digital channel stops being an afterthought and becomes part of the tax and volume picture.