Betfair has confirmed that Spain has awarded them a gambling industry licence. Best known for their exchange product, the firm will only be able to operate their stand-alone fixed-odds sportsbook product and certain casino products, including blackjack and roulette, in the country. Like everyone else they will pay a 25 percent tax on gross gaming revenue and they join a raft of other companies in the market meaning there will be much competition to succeed.
Microgaming powered Prima Networks Spain is another that have received a licence to operate in the country with several deals in place to supply software to those operating. Flash Casino, Download Casino, Poker and Bingo will all be part of the offering and Loraine Schoevers, director of Prima Networks Spain, added: “Our reliable, flexible solutions, combined with a large games rollout programme, makes us a very attractive proposition”. The list Spain’s licensees includes PokerStars, 888, JAXX SE, Sportingbet, NetBet.es, Codere, Cirsa, Egasa, bet365, bwin.party, Poker770, LBApuestas, Acrismatic and Paf.
Reports in Italy are suggesting that AAMS director Raffaele Ferrara has stepped down. Jamma.it are one of the sites reporting that Ferrara has left the agency and will aim to take up a position elsewhere in the Ministry of Finance. It comes just days after the AAMS director has responded to calls for the tax on the gambling industry to be raised in the wake of the recent earthquake that hit the country. When asked on tax changes he told the site: “The games are already taxed: I’d be very careful to assess possible new taxes on gambling, which is a world that is based on balances very special.”
