Online Gambling Goes Live in Spain

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On June 5, 2012, the licensed online gambling sites in Spain went live under the new regulatory mechanism. Some of the better known operators were PokerStars, 888, Bwin.party, Ongame, Poker770 and Bet365. All launched their .es domain web sites, thereby isolating the Spanish online gambling players from the international .com web sites.

The licenses were issued on June 1 by the Spanish regulatory authority, the General Directorate for the Regulation of Gambling, and some of the operators had issued press releases confirming the same. PokerStars spokesman Eric Hollreiser had said that they had been granted a license to operate in Spain. He added, "As always, PokerStars is committed to providing players with a superior customer service, software and security. You can rest assured that your funds in this transition are totally safe and available. We will provide more details on the transition next week."

888 Holdings Plc had confirmed receipt of license covering casino, poker, bingo and sport. Brian Mattingley, CEO of 888, pointed out that Spain was an important market for 888. It accounted for 5% of the revenue in 2011. He averred that the future of the online gaming industry was in regulated, legitimate and safe online gaming environments.

Prima Networks Spain plc was another party to issue a press advisory. It has tied up with Microgaming to supply the leading software to a number of the premier operators in the Spanish market. The products offered by Prima Networks Spain include Flash Casino, Download Casino, Poker and Bingo. Loraine Schoevers, Director of Prima Networks Spain plc, said, "We are delighted to be providing our market-leading software to some of the largest operators in Spain. Our reliable, flexible solutions, combined with a large games rollout program, makes us a very attractive proposition."

Initial reports indicate that the first day of legal online gambling in Spain went well. This was despite uncertainties created by some last minute rulings. Initially the regulator required the purging of all existing player databases and the need for players to sign up anew on the .es websites. Operators were forbidden to transfer their players. Then the operators were informally told that they would have until June 15 before the "transitioning rule" comes into effect. It was reported that at Pokerstars.es and PartyPoker.es the Spanish players were re-routed from their .com sites and that VIP points and balances were being transferred over without a problem. However, at PokerStars.es the popular speed poker derivative Zoom was not yet available and that that stakes were restricted up to €0.50/1.00. The Ongame network was available through four skins operated by PAF and Goalwin. The Ladbrokes site LBapuestas and a CIRSA operated site were powered by Microgaming.

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