Online Casinos in Spain Considering Leaving the Country

While Spain is seeking to attract billions of dollars in casino investment money from Adelson, a billionaire gambling tycoon, for a land-based development, the Spanish gambling laws are about to become more restrictive.

While many anti-gambling advocates claim that recession impoverished Spaniards lose way too much money at Spanish poker rooms and other gambling destinations, the proponents of the status quo argue that the players will gamble anyway, even at offshore casino sites, while the jobs and tax revenues coming from the gambling industry in Spain will be gone.

Nevertheless, the new gambling sanctions make the executives of online casinos in Spain reconsider their strategy and possibly leave the country for more benign and greener pastures. In fact, one huge and well known online casino and a sportsbook, Unibet, announced that it is leaving Spain.

The operations are ending now, but the clients will still have access to their accounts and will be able to withdraw money. Potentially, these clients will also be able to continue betting with Paf, a Swedish gaming company, which has already applied for Spanish gambling license.

Although, online gambling and sports betting is way more legalized among the European countries than in America, the gambling laws get as complicated as those in the United States. This only benefits small islands, such as Malta and the British Channel jurisdictions, which are more liberal when it comes to gambling and, as a result, derive substantial revenues from issuing licenses, which later on are valid throughout the European Union.