Online Gambling in Spain Yielded EUR 111m Taxes in Four Months

Spanish DGOJ (Direccion General de Ordenacion del Juego, the General Gaming Commission) revealed its limited report on the gambling market in the country. The newly legislated online gaming industry yielded the much needed tax Euros for the Spain’s troubled economy between June and end September 2012.

Spanish gambling tax revenues totaled EUR 111 million, administrative fees yielded another EUR 12.78 million until October 2012.

Total gross gaming revenue was EUR 77,43 million. Betting, including online sports betting in Spain was responsible for 46 percent to the total Ggross gaming revenue. Poker brought in 35.9 percent, online casino and other games yielded 17.8 percent and other contests a mere 0.3 percent.

Spain’s fiscal state budget forecast was almost EUR 150 million for the whole 2012 year from the online gambling sector.

In related news: DGOJ, the Spanish gambling authority ordered 12 allegedly unlicensed Spanish online casinos to cease operating in ten days, or else face heavy fines.

The message seems to be quite clear. Spain says: either license your operation in the country and pay your dues according to the Spanish gambling laws, or stop targeting our players.

Here we reached an interesting point. Hundreds of millions of people speak Spanish as their native tongue outside Spain, just think of South America. When an operator targets these people – just think of Betsson – they of course have a site in Spanish. Unless it is specifically banned, gamblers from Spain can easily reach the casino site.

The ban can come from the operator side. But what happens when an operator fails to comply with the order to kick out Spanish citizens from its site, but at the same time the company does not have anything to do in Spain? Can the Spanish authorities put a fine on the company?

Well, possibly not. Still, Spanish regulators can force ISPs to ban their customers from reaching certain sites, or they can introduce limits on gambling payments that go outside of Spain.

It shall be an interesting match. We’ll be sure to follow the news.