Betfair Obtains Spanish Gambling License

Betfair, the giant UK online gambling group, has become the latest company to be granted an egambling license to operate in the newly regulated Spanish market.

The group announced on Thursday that its license application had been successful, and it could now start offering its products to Spanish online gamblers.

The new license awarded to Betfair allows the group to offer casino products such as blackjack and roulette, as well as sports betting platforms.

According to a spokesperson for Betfair, the group would be eligible for a 25% gross gaming revenue tax, as are all operators in the new market.

Betfair stressed that it has been paying this tax ever since Spain introduced its new gambling legislation in May 2011.

60 Groups Apply for Spanish Gambling License

Betfair was one of around sixty gambling groups who applied for a new gambling license from Spain. The cash-strapped nation decided to take advantage of the growing online gambling industry and channel millions of Euros in tax and revenues back into the country's coffers.

Spain is considered a major sporting power and revenues from the newly regulated industry could generate as much as £800 million in 2014, according to estimates.

In recent weeks alone, Spain raised over £70 million from online gambling companies, including Betfair, who were forced to pay back taxes ahead of the finalisation of licenses by Spanish authorities.

Some of the groups who applied for - and received - gambling licenses include Bwin.Party Digital and SportingBet, as well as the biggest bookmaker in the UK, William Hill and online gambling company, 888 Holdings Plc.

Betfair's Future in Germany Worrying

With the news of Betfair obtaining a Spanish gambling license, however, comes concerns for Betfair regarding its future in the German gambling market.

Recently, Betfair became one of the first groups to receive an online gambling license from the German state Schleswig-Holstein, paving the way for the company to offer its services to a growing German gambling market.

Last weekend, however, the newly elected coalition government in the state said that it intended to reverse its decision to offer online gambling licenses and, instead, join the other 15 German states to adopt a unified gambling treaty.

The implications of this statement are still unknown, with both Schleswig-Holstein authorities and the newly licensed gambling groups consulting with their legal representatives to see how these changes could affect them.