One in ten online purchases in Spain is gambling, according to the National Commission of Markets and Competition

They accounted for 9.9% of all online sales, according to data published on 2 October by the National Commission on Markets and Competition (CNMC) in CNMCData.

In that period, more than 549 million transactions were registered, 16.0% more than a year earlier. Applying the CNMC's percentage, gambling would add up to about 54 million operations, according to Infoplay calculations.

Gambling is clearly ahead of the rest of the sectors in terms of the number of purchases. It is followed by land passenger transport (6.5%), restaurants (6.3%), department stores (5.4%) and clothing (5.3%). Activities related to transport (4.2%), artistic, sports and recreational events (3.0%), downloads of applications and content (3.0%), fuel (2.8%) and supermarkets (2.5%) complete the list of the top ten.

By turnover, gaming occupies the fifth position, with 5.1% of the 29,643 million euros moved by e-commerce in the quarter, 15.1% more year-on-year. That share is equivalent to about 1,512 million euros, according to Infoplay calculations. Ahead are travel agencies and tour operators (8.7%), air transport (6.4%), clothing (6.1%) and services auxiliary to financial intermediation (5.5%). Behind are hotels (4.5%), department stores (4.0%) and shows (3.6%).

The difference between the two figures is significant: gambling weighs almost twice as much in the number of operations (9.9%) than in turnover (5.1%). The opposite is true of travel, where a few high-value purchases account for most of the spending.

According to the origin and destination of the purchases, gambling is the third activity with the highest turnover in purchases made from Spain on foreign websites, with 5.9% of 16,604 million euros (about 980 million, according to Infoplay calculations). Only ancillary services to financial intermediation (9.8%) and clothing (8.6%) are surpassed. 94.1% of purchases from Spain abroad were made in shops in the European Union.

In purchases within Spain, which grew by 17.0% to 9,207 million euros, gambling ranks eighth, with 5.3% (about 488 million, according to Infoplay calculations). This ranking is headed by public administration, taxes and social security (8.5%), air transport (6.9%) and supermarkets (6.8%). Gambling is not among the top ten activities in purchases from abroad on Spanish websites, where tourism accounts for 61.6% of the business.

The CNMC itself highlights in its blog that the answer to who leads e-commerce depends on what is measured: in turnover, travel agencies win, and in transactions, gambling and betting.