Spain delays market opening by six months
Spain egaming launch delayed six months to give regulator time to verify and issue successful applicants with licences by 30 June this year.
The launch of Spain’s online gambling market has been delayed by six months in order to give the regulator enough time to verify and issue successful applicants with their licences by 30 June this year.
As a result, the newly formed Spanish government, whose ministers met for the first time on 30 December, amended its gaming law and extended the amnesty period for dot.com operators in which they will be able to continue to offer products and advertise to Spanish players as well sponsor various activities in the country without fear of prosecution.
On 16 December last year eGaming Review revealed that a total of 62 operators have applied for an egaming licence in Spain, but that the sheer volume of paperwork needed to process applications was likely to scupper a 1 January launch.
Spanish regulator Juan Carlos Alfonso had met every deadline in the run up to the scheduled market opening however, the lack of time and manpower needed to process more than an estimated 600kg of documentation has halted recent progress.
According to a local legal source, “the question is now whether the short period for filing applications, that lapsed last 14 December last year, was justified or if the way it was enforced legally was giving [each applicant] the same opportunities”.
He believes, however, that the delay could prove to be good news for those operators and media companies “ particularly local land-based operators “ not fully prepared for the launch of online gaming products.
“In any event the regulator will now have six months to issue licences to all the applicants. It is not probable that he [the regulator] will wait six months. Logic says that will expedite the licenses as soon as all the applications have been verified and comply with the law so that all applicants will have the opportunity to start at the same time, and with no advantages to anyone.”
There have been more than 300 licence applications “ including individual licences for each game in each vertical “ handed into the Spanish regulator so far with 62 separate operators involved, half of them Spanish companies.