Poll results: Too much expected from Spain, say eGR readers
Respondents to poll believe Spanish market could never have lived up to promise, however a third suggest its fortunes could still improve.
Expectations in Spain were too high to begin with, eGaming Review readers have said, as concerns over the juristiction continue with a number of dot.es licensees planning to withdraw from the online poker market due to low liquidity.
Almost half of eGR readers (43%) believe too much was expected of the Spanish market, with a further 33% agreeing but with the caveat that things will improve in the near future. Only 24% have argued that the market has progressed as predicted.
Fears over the future of the market increased on Tuesday as the chairman of struggling Spanish licensee Goalwin told eGR there is “no chance” for anyone except PokerStars to gain enough liquidity to succeed. Chicco Merighi also criticised Spanish regulator Dirección General de Ordenación del Juego (DGOJ) for managing the situation badly.
His complaints followed the revelation that several poker operators sitting on Ongame and Microgaming’s local networks have consulted with lawyers with a view to having their licences rescinded in the next few months.
Among the 53 companies securing licences last summer were bet365, 888 and PokerStars, as well as several local land-based operators, after the DGOJ enacted its egaming regulations in June. However, by August, many local licensees had still failed to fully launch their online offerings.
However, the regulatory body has been criticised for only giving 14 hours’ notice to operators not to transfer players’ dot.com data and balances to the dot.es sites, by which time several of the biggest foreign operators had already done so.