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Spain – Andalusia passes new gaming law allowing sports betting
By Phil - 15 September 2017
The Regional Government of Andalusia expects to raise around an additional €1.65m a year with its new gaming rules.
The Governing Council has approved the Andalusia Gambling Regulations which will apply to gaming activities carried out within the territorial scope of the autonomous community. The new regulations will effect land based sports betting as well as online gaming and the new rules will supplement Spanish online gaming rules which went into effect in 2011. Up until now Andalusia has been the only regional government which has not permitted sports betting.
The text specifies that, in addition to online, it will also be possible to offer sports betting in specific gambling establishments such as casinos, bingo halls, slot parlours and betting shops. Sports betting will not be permitted in non gaming establishments such as bars and hotels.
The new act makes a number of other major changes to the local gaming market. These include stricter player protection measures such as self exclusion programmes as well as stricter age verification and identity controls.
In 2015 gaming via casinos, slot machines and bingo in Andalucía stood at €1,735.24m. Now that new rules have been put into place the state expects to double the amount it raises in gaming tax revenue. The revenue forecast for gambling taxes in Andalusia reached €1.15m in the last year year. This is expected to rise by as much as €2.8m next year and as much as €5m in 2019.
It is hoped that new rules will help the industry continue to recover after suffering subsequent falls in revenues between 2010 and 2014. In September 2016 the The Regional Government of Andalusia announced that it would authorise sports betting in slot parlours, bingo halls and casinos. The news was greeted warmly by local industry insiders who had been lobbying for changes to local gaming rules for a number of years.
The local gaming board also pointed out that online operators with national licenses prefer licences granted by autonomous administrations due the lower tax rate which stands at 10 per cent on profit after prizes (win) – compared to 25 per cent taxation imposed by state legislation.
President of the National Association of Entrepreneurs of Gaming and Recreational Halls (ANESAR), Isabel Fernandez Rodríguez welcomed the news saying that the new law would create additional jobs and generate additional tax income for the state.
