Online gambling has been gaining rapid worldwide popularity for more than two decades, and Spain was definitely at the forefront as one of the countries to act quickly and regulate the online market. Nowadays, there are many top online casino sites in Spain; in fact, sites such as bestcasinosites.net made a selection of the best ones for Spanish players.
Before we take a look at the current state of affairs regarding online gambling in this country, let’s take a quick recap of Spain’s relation to various luck-based and skill-based games.
Is Gambling Legal in Spain at All?
Gambling is legal in the country from the Iberian Peninsula, and many citizens of this European country enjoy spending their time playing casino games, betting on sports, and more. It’s safe to conclude that the gambling industry of Spain has been flourishing recently.
Some of the games that Spaniards like to play include card games and dominoes. Some gambling activities raise a bit of controversy, such as cockfighting, but they are usually confined to a couple of areas.
Some pretty strict rules in the entire country of Spain need to be followed when it comes to gambling. They have set the legal gambling age to 18, and minors are not allowed to enter gambling venues or register in online casinos.
At the moment, there are approximately 60 land-based casinos in Spain, offering more than 250,000 slots. Moreover, people enjoy visiting racetracks, and there are seven of them right now.
The government legalized gambling related to games of skill back in 1977, while games of chance were legalized four years later. However, what affected the present-day landscape the most happened in 2012 when online gambling regulations were introduced to the gambling law of Spain, as well as penalties for illegal gambling in the country.
Online Gambling in Spain
Online gambling has been very popular among Spanish citizens. They enjoy taking part in various kinds of activities on the web, including lottery, bingo, bullfighting betting (which is also a subject of debate), horse racing and dog racing betting, poker, and online casinos.
Unlike poker, which has lately been experiencing certain ups and downs popularity-wise in the country, online casinos have been doing pretty well so far. Their popularity is steadily growing, as well as the number of possible options.
Numbers and Figures
According to some stats released in June by Dirección General de Ordenación del Juego (DGOJ), online operators from Spain managed to generate a total of 193.2 million in Q1 2019.
Compared to Q4 of 2018, there is a small improvement of 2.14%. However, in a year-on-year comparison, there is a significant improvement of 20.1%. Although there is overall growth, many believe that things have been slowing down recently.
Still, when it comes to online casinos, Spain has achieved some very good results. Online casinos managed to produce €67.1 million in revenue, which is 25% more compared to the year before that.
One of the main reasons is that online slots have become very popular, skyrocketing up to a 29.2% increase compared to Q1 2018. Slots alone were a great source of revenue stream, making a total of €37.5 million in Q1 2019, according to this article.
To sum up, some professionals worry that the growth of the online gambling industry is slowing down in Spain. However, the country is not doing bad at all, as suggested by the numbers presented in the text. Therefore, if you are currently in Spain, there are plenty of opportunities for playing games in online casinos and taking part in other gambling activities on the web.
