Esports lead Spanish betting: 71% growth
The online gambling ecosystem in Spain has undergone a radical transformation over the last year, marked by an unstoppable rise in esports. According to the latest data released by Sportium, the volume of bets linked to esports grew by 70.9 percent in 2025 compared to the previous year. This phenomenon does not represent an isolated peak of activity, but rather confirms a structural change in the preferences of digital users, who have begun to shift their interest from conventional sports events to virtual competitions with unprecedented speed.
The magnitude of this change is clearly reflected in the ranking of the most popular digital competitions, where esports have managed to capture four of the top five positions in terms of transaction volume. Currently, the list is headed by the Esoccer H2H GG League, relegating the NBA to second place as the only representative of traditional sports in the elite group. The rest of the Top 5 is completed by the Ebasketball H2H GG League, the eAdriatic League, and the ESportsBattle E-Football, creating a scenario where virtual football and basketball dictate the pace of the market.
Alfredo Kindelán, Sportium's Director of Trading and Product, noted that these results are not a surprise, but rather the validation of a trend that the industry had been monitoring for some time. For the executive, the fact that esports almost completely dominate the top positions in the ranking demonstrates that this segment has ceased to be an emerging alternative to become the central axis of the digital strategy in Spain. The ability of these competitions to generate a constant flow of bets has allowed, for example, eSoccer to surpass a global competition like the NBA in volume by a margin close to 46 percent.
The report highlights that this success is based on a very specific consumption pattern among Spanish bettors. Most users who have turned to esports do so by following disciplines they already consumed in their traditional formats, finding a more dynamic and frequent offering in the virtual versions. This migration to the digital environment has not only diversified operators' portfolios but has also established a new standard of competitiveness where the immediacy and technical availability of virtual events seem to have a strategic advantage over physical sports calendars.
Tags: Spain, online betting Spain, betting regulation Spain, eSports betting Spain, eSports Spain