Spain Orders 12 Online Casino Operators to Close Down

Spanish gambling law enforcing agency DGOJ (Dirección General de Ordenación del Juego) started an offensive against illegal online gambling operations.

The authorities ordered the shutdown of twelve allegedly unlicensed operators who were active on the Spanish online casino market. If the operators fail to comply with the DGOJ orders, they must pay heavy fines.

The companies are reported to have only ten days to cease activities. The questioned online gambling operators are claimed to include UWin Poker, Gaming VC (Betboo), Come On Europe, DreamMakers Gaming Tech, Tempo Gaming, RM Royal Media Group, Midas Player, Media Entertainment (offsidebet), 12Bet, 10bet and Globet International Sports as well as Scandinavian firm Betsson.

Betsson was really surprised to hear in the Spanish gambling news that the company was on the DGOJ list. Betsson chief executive officer, Magnus Silfverberg informed: “We have no business whatsoever in Spain.“

Silfverberg emphasized: “We do not target Spain or do anything in Spain, but we have a site in Spanish for the many people around the world who speak Spanish.”

Sacha Michaud, president of the Spanish Association of Digital Gaming, informed: “The closure of the websites of those operators who have not complied with regulations demonstrates the degree of seriousness and professionalism that we can find in the Spanish online gambling market, which is a clear indication that we are going in the right direction.”

Michaud added: “Action should be taken against unlicensed operators to have a safe and orderly market but without losing sight of the fact that the occurrence of these cases shows that more work is needed to ensure the Spanish market is attractive enough for customers preventing them from seeking out unregulated operators.”