Spain Gambling Opening Up

Thursday May 1,2014 : SPANISH ONLINE SLOTS AND BETTING EXCHANGES ON THE WAY
 
Unlimited number of licenses, and a launch scheduled for January 2015.
 
The long-awaited approval for online slot and betting exchange action in the Spanish online gambling market has finally been given by the Dirección General de Ordenación del Juego which has announced that it is working towards an implementation date of January 2015.
 
Operators will be given 30 days to apply for licensing for the new genres, and there appears to be no limit on the number of licenses available.
 
A period of public consultation started earlier this year and has preceded the green light. Whilst online operators obviously were in favour of the expansion in online activity, many of the land operators expressed reservations, fearing the competition this move might represent.
 
However, the DGOJ has concluded that regulated and strictly policed activity is the best way to combat negative criminal and business influences and provide better consumer protection.