This story is sponsored by Party Poker
bet365, 888, bwin.party and Sportingbet have confirmed receipt of online gaming licences in Spain, covering the offer of sports betting, poker, blackjack and roulette from 5 June.
888 and PartyPoker owner bwin.party also stated to the London Stock Exchange that they had also been licensed for online bingo, ostensibly covering the operators to provide this once the product is regulated in Spain at a later date. bwin.party will be launching a new localised bingo brand called Binguez.es, alongside PartyPoker.es and bwin.es.
bwin.party co-CEOs Jim Ryan and Norbert Teufelberger said the company would look to “secure market-leading positions in all five products through leveraging the inherent strength of our two prime brands, PartyPoker and bwin, which has attained high consumer awareness through its sponsorship of Real Madrid.”
Operators will be paying 25% of gross gaming revenue on all products from the market, a tax all four companies have been paying on all revenues generated by Spanish players since 29 May 2011.
bwin.party and 888 generated 4% and 5% of their respective revenue from the territory in 2011, and Sportingbet 9.4% in the last half year to 31 January.
Sportingbet, that also owns the Paradise Poker brand, added that the licence negates part of the injunction which forced the shutdown of its Spanish business on 27 March, allowing Miapuesta.es to start trading at 9am, 8am UK time, this coming Tuesday 5 June. It is now filing an application with the Commercial Court no.10 in Madrid to have the other parts of the injunction cancelled.
888 CEO Brian Mattingley said: “We believe that the future of the online gaming industry is in regulated, legitimate and safe online gaming environments, and we believe we have the right offering to gain significant market share.”
The Spanish regulator has reiterated that operators will not be able to transfer Spanish player accounts and balances from dot.com to dot.es platforms when the regulated market goes live.
The Spanish regulator yesterday reiterated a last-minute “clarification” that operators will not be able to transfer player accounts, funds or loyalty points when they from move from dot.com to dot.es platforms. However, Casino Choice understands that the regulator has informed operators that this requirement won’t likely be enforced until 15 June, effectively giving operators a ten-day period of grace during which to transfer player data across.
