The stock market Sherlocks at Daniel Stewart and Company are reporting a widening schism between Spain’s Ministry of Finance and regional authorities over the country’s online gambling liberalization plans. Local officials in Madrid and elsewhere are demanding a greater say in how the new regime would operate, including harmonization with existing online regulations in these areas. The taxation scheme is also still up in the air, with rumors of a 10% tax on wins, or an 8.5% rate on all bets, or none of the above.
With so much left to be decided, it shouldn’t come as a surprise that the pace of change is expected to slow. While federal backers were hoping to get the legislation done by the end of the year, DS&C go on to say that locals believe the deal will now not get done until late 2011, possibly not until summer 2012. See, this is what happens when you make sleeping a competitive sport.
