New Online Gambling Licenses for Spain

Spain’s Gambling Regulation Act 13/2011 of 27^th May relating to gambling regulation states that the number of licenses to be granted by the DGOJ, in principle is unlimited although there is an obligation to wait at least a full eighteen months between any two licensing tenders with the last tender actually taking place at the end of 2014.

The main aim of the Gaming Act is to harmonise the regulation of online gambling in Spain, an activity that crosses regional boundaries when at the same time regional gambling will still be regulated by each self-governing region.

Now the Spanish gambling watchdog (the DGOJ) has launched a formal initiative addressed to the State Administration and the Minister of Finance over new online gambling licences that relate to the direct exploitation and commercialisation of online gambling activities in Spain.

What is being recommended is that the DGOJ is an evaluation of the opening of the market which has been influenced by the DGOJ receiving two formal requests to reopen licensing from two international entities which are both, at this time, unlicensed in Spain.

Online gaming refers to games performed through electronic channels. Sites like Schmitts Casino where data, information and documentation are transferred through public or private communication network (mobile phone, laptop, tablet etc.) either in real time or recorded.

If the proposal of the DGOJ’s is accepted by the Minister of Finance, it will be them who will govern the procedure, and the Minister of Finance now has three months to accept the proposal. If it is accepted, the Ministerial Order calling for tenders will include all of the final terms that have been decided upon, and that will govern the procedure.

It is expected that the proposal will contain a one-year deadline for any candidate operators to apply for their gambling license and this deadline starts from the opening of the procedure. This one-year deadline is far more generous than previous tenders, and only those that meet all of the requirements which are set out in the Gambling Regulation and the final terms of the tender will be eligible to receive a gambling license.