Operator News
Spain – Sports betting sees major expansion in Andalucía
By Phil - 5 September 2018
Sports betting is on the rise in Andalucía meaning that the government will finally see an end to years of falling tax gaming revenue. Just a year after the Government authorised sports betting there are now 3,440 sports betting terminals in 749 gaming venues in the autonomous community.
Sports betting has expanded most in the province of Malaga, which now has almost 23 per cent of all sports betting venues and terminals. A total of 813 sports betting terminals were installed in the province of Malaga in 171 gambling venues, with an average of four sports betting machines per venue.
The province of Malaga now has three times more sports betting terminals machines than in other provinces such as Jaén and more than in Granada, Cádiz and Jaén combined. Seville came in second place, with 663 gaming terminals; followed by Huelva, with 461; Córdoba, with 367, Almería, with 362; Cádiz, with 359; Granada with 226; and, finally, Jaén, with 218.
The Regional Government of Andalusia expects to raise around an additional €1.65m a year with its new gaming rules. In September last year the Governing Council approved the Andalusia Gambling Regulations which now apply to gaming activities carried out within the territorial scope of the autonomous community. The new regulations effect land based sports betting as well as online gaming and the new rules now supplement Spanish online gaming rules which went into effect in 2011. Up until then, Andalusia had been the only regional government which had not permitted sports betting.
It is believed that new rules will now help the industry continue to recover after suffering subsequent falls in revenues between 2010 and 2014. 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.
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 is not be permitted in non-gaming establishments such as bars and hotels.
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 2014. This is expected to rise by as much as €2.8m this year and as much as €5m in 2019.
