Sports betting has expanded most in the province of Malaga, which now has almost 23 per cent of all sports betting venues and terminals. A total of 813 sports betting terminals were installed in the province of Malaga in 171 gambling venues, with an average of four sports betting machines per venue.
The Regional Government of Andalusia expects to raise around an additional €1.65m a year with its new gaming rules. In September last year the Governing Council approved the Andalusia Gambling Regulations which now apply to gaming activities carried out within the territorial scope of the autonomous community.
The new regulations effect land based sports betting as well as online gaming and the new rules now supplement Spanish online gaming rules which went into effect in 2011. Up until then, Andalusia had been the only regional government which had not permitted sports betting.
It is believed that new rules will now help the industry continue to recover after suffering subsequent falls in revenues between 2010 and 2014. The news was greeted warmly by local industry insiders who had been lobbying for changes to local gaming rules for a number of years.
The local gaming board also pointed out that online operators with national licenses prefer licences granted by autonomous administrations due the lower tax rate which stands at 10 per cent on profit after prizes (win) – compared to 25 per cent taxation imposed by state legislation.
The text specifies that, in addition to online, it will also be possible to offer sports betting in specific gambling establishments such as casinos, bingo halls, slot parlours and betting shops. Sports betting is not be permitted in non-gaming establishments such as bars and hotels.
Source: GMB / G3 Newswire
