Spanish licensing window to re-open

The Spanish regulator is to re-open its licensing window in the coming days after details regarding the regulation of slots and exchange betting as well as the application for general licences were published this morning with as many as a dozen new operators expected to apply.

The licensing window will remain open for a period of 30 days and operators currently licensed in Spain who wish to provide slots and/or exchange betting and businesses not currently active in the regulated Spanish market can apply for a licence.

Market observers estimate the country could see around a dozen new market entrants while a large majority of current licensed operators will apply for a permit to offer slots betting.

“It is expected that ten or twelve new applicants will enter the market on the different verticals, and of course most all the existing operators will certainly apply for the slots,” gaming consultant Eduardo Morales-Hermo told eGaming Review.

Slots and exchange betting is expected to go live in early 2015 although newcomers to the licensed Spanish market may have to wait a little longer to offer slots than those who entered the market upon its opening in June 2012.

The regulator and casino operators will be hoping the Spanish casino market responds in a similar fashion to the introduction of slots to Italy’s which grew by more than 60% in 2013 after it added slots to its portfolio in late 2012.

The addition of slots and exchange betting was finally confirmed in July after a long drawn-out process which first got underway in 2012.

The final legislative documents showed little change to earlier drafts with tax rates set at 25% of gross gaming revenues and operators will still be required to implement strict social responsibility and player protection measures.

Licences are set to last for five years but will be renewable should operators submit their applications within four months of their expiry dates.