The first licenses will be awarded on June 7 with revenues estimated to be over 800 million euros ($1 billion) by 2014, according to gaming association Jdigital.
Spain is one of the largest gambling markets in the world with online gambling currently dominated by foreign companies as opposed to local Spanish casino and gambling operators.
Publicly-traded firms such as Sportingbet and Bwin.party digital are expected to be among the main contenders, as are Ladbrokes, 888 and Betfair.
Unlike most other markets with government regulation, Spain has capped the number of licenses it will award with 59 companies applying so far for a license to offer online casino games, lotto, poker and sportsbetting.
In addition to the tax revenues it expects to rake in moving forward ? with gross profit taxes for companies of between 10-25 percent ? the Spanish government has already collected payments from companies for previous operations in the unregulated markets.
Under pressure to stay in the good graces of the government in order to receive a license to operate in Spain moving forward, companies including Sportingbet and Bwin have agreed to pay around 70 million euros of back taxes.
Companies had originally started paying tax in may 2011 when the new gaming law was first passed but government authorities demanded companies also pay for back taxes owed, citing decrees from as far back as 1966 and 1977.
Spain?s economy continues to struggle, which has added fuel to the efforts to not just collect back taxes but to also grab a piece of profits from online gambling moving forward.
Regulated Online Gambling Comes to Spain ? Casino Guide ? CasinoGuide.com
brownback brownback salvia cybermonday deals cybermonday deals steve johnson norman reedus
No comments:
Post a Comment
Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.