Spanish regulators have decided to open up a new tender window for new online licensees, which will effectively expand the country's current gambling market.
National gambling authority, the Dirección General de Ordenación del Juego (DGOJ), said in a statement that accepting new applicants interested in entering the Spanish market would soon commence.
The tender hasn't been officially published yet, but according to available information, it will open a one year period for interested parties to submit their applications. This window will give more time to operators, since the previous tender, published in October 2015, gave them only a month to prepare and file their applications.
According to the DGOJ, all operators will be informed on the status of their application within six months of their filing.
Third Time the Charm
This will be the third time the DGOJ is inviting operators to enter the Spanish online gambling market. The first tender was opened back in 2012, while the previous one, published almost two years ago, ended with 10 new operators receiving their licenses.
The DGOJ stated the latest move represented an answer to recent expressions of interest from several international operators. How many of them will apply for the Spanish license is still not known at the moment, and neither is their identity.
The Spanish online gambling market is slowly but surely establishing its position among its European counterparts. The market itself had a rough start with sports betting and poker. However, the addition of online casino vertical to the country's regulated gambling offer resulted in the increase in revenue. The most recent quarterly report revealed Spain had grossed €248 million – 3% more money than in the corresponding period of 2016.
Spain's market has been making excellent results lately. During the second quarter of this year, online casino has further strengthened its positions, while a slight decline in sports betting gross gaming revenue was attributed to the end of the football season in national and continental competitions.
Overall, the online casino and betting industry is showing a stable evolution and a solid growth rate.
