Why You Should Bet Big On Online Bingo in Spain

Bingo might get side-lined in a number of countries, however it has managed to rank second place in Spain’s gambling landscape. As online gambling takes off in the Iberian Peninsula, we think Spanish online bingo is worth placing your bets on.

While other countries favor poker, slots or sportsbetting, Spain has become a hive of bingo players and ranks as one of Europe’s bingo hotspots.

With over 500 bingo halls, and bingo becoming so popular the government had to step in to regulate land-based halls, despite a few setbacks in Spanish gambling laws, we expect online and mobile bingo to take off in Spain.

Even though the government has imposed licensing restrictions on Spanish bingo sites, Spanish bingo is still on the rise and we expect it to become one of the hottest gambling destinations in the world within the next decade.

Spain’s bingo legacy

The Spanish are big on gambling, and bingo is one of the most popular forms on the Iberian Peninsula.

While most countries favor other forms of gambling, like card games or slots, bingo really took off in Spain and halls popped up all around the country. In fact, bingo’s popularity made it rather problematic, so the government introduced special regulations back in 2004.

Bingo had gotten so out of control in Spain that regulations were put in place to curb the issues arising with the popularity of underground bingo halls, which tallied in at around 200 in the country at the time and were generating millions in profit.

The gambling laws in Spain also set restrictions on the distance between bingo halls and the number of halls per resident and the scope of the issue just goes to show the degree of popularity bingo has in Spain.

However, the golden age of the Spanish bingo hall declined with the advent of the smoking ban, which meant bad news for land-based bingo venues, but good news for online ones.

The Spanish online gambling debut

Top International Online Bingo Sites for Spanish Players:

• Cyber Bingo is one of the oldest bingo sites on the net with a number of games on offer for dedicated bingo players.

• Bet365 Bingo might be a UK site, but it offers Spanish players the chance to play in their own language, with a choice of a number of games for players.

With the majority of Spaniards being smokers, many turned to the internet to get their bingo fix, which they could enjoy while smoking at home. As the land-based halls saw a huge drop in attendance, online gambling grew in Spain.

Online bingo in Spain has seen its fair share of ups and downs though. In 2012, a new law was put in place allowing for Spanish residents to only gamble at sites with a license issued by the Spanish government and with the .es domain name.

The new law has given homegrown sites an advantage, and many Spanish players have turned sites like Botemania, YoBingo or Tombola, which are the three biggest bingo operators in the country.

While the Spanish market is behind the UK one in terms of the number of bingo players, the future is bright for Spanish bingo.

More and more bingo sites with the .es domain name are popping up on the scene, which could very well rival other online bingo sites in the future.

Spain’s economic situation is dire straits under the current economic condition, so establishing a good online gambling market could be a way for Spain to earn some additional income to help support the massive budget deficits it has experienced in the recession.

While internet gaming in Spain has been dominated by foreign firms, the licensing laws will allow foreign companies to operate in Spain, but it will also encourage local gaming companies to get involved.

The president for the Spanish organization for bingo operators CEJ, Fernando Henar, said: “The sector is on fire, and it looks like if you are not online, there is no future. But we will have to see who makes it through, because online businesses can be expensive to get off the ground. The business is based on marketing.”

Online bingo in Spain has the chance to become the next big thing in the online gambling arena, but with competition from the UK and other online gambling sites, Spain needs to be innovative with its push into the online bingo world.

The future is mobile

Analysts will tell you that the future of gambling lies in mobile casino gaming and betting. With the increased rate of mobile penetration through out the world, more people are choosing to gamble on the go.

Spain seemed to have been a bit behind in the mobile gambling market, but one Spanish app designer has launched a number of bingo apps that are not only available in Spanish, but also English, Italian, French and Russian.

Juan Antonio Fernandez Garcia’s Bingoplus offers players the chance to play a number of bingo games from the convenience of their own smartphone or tablet.

Currently available for iPhone, iPad and iPod, Bingoplus is one of the best bingo apps for Spanish players looking for a homegrown app.

Since mobile gambling apps are new in the field, it gives countries looking to break into the monopoly a chance to get in on the game. Since Spain already has a dedicated bingo crowd, perhaps gaming operators will seek to get in on the game.

Spain’s economic future might look rocky at present when we read the news on the current situation, but it looks like things are positive in its bingo future.

With more Spanish bingo sites making a name for themselves, with the potential to also offer mobile bingo games for tablets and smartphones, it is just possible that Spain might usurp the UK from the bingo throne in the near future.

Spanish bingo is great for ambitious players, since there are always good prizes and bonuses to be had, and as it rises, we say bet big on Spanish online bingo!