We had 60 people attending the Gaming in Spain, Gaming in Holland drinks at ICE last Tuesday. Nice speaking to you all again, thanks for coming and it was fun.
With EIG moving back to Barcelona the next Gaming in Spain drink will be in our territory and we are looking forward to see you all there.
Thanks again to Evolution Gaming for taking care of the drinks:)
Willem van Oort
Gaming in Spain Exclusive: Liberalisation of Spanish online gambling market will be a success as the market will grow to Euro 680 million by 2015
After the critically acclaimed report of 2007, MECN now publishes its 2011 report to coincide with the end of the application date for online gaming licenses.
Liberalisation of the Spanish online gambling market will be a success as the market will grow to 680m€ by 2015.
In May the Spanish government passed a law that will transform and liberalise most sectors of the Spanish online gambling market starting at the beginning of 2012. Now the final act of the market opening in Spain is implemented, and the first operator licenses will likely be granted very soon – among them industry leaders, such as Bwin.Party, PokerStars, and local heavyweights Codere and Cirsa. Liberalisation always sounds good, but the question is whether it will turn into a success story in Spain. MECN has analysed the situation in depth and compiled the most comprehensive and detailed report on the Spanish gambling market available.
At the Gaming in Spain Conference 2011 this was all announced by Juan Carlos Alfonso Rubio:
MECN’s new report – The Spanish gambling market
The increased complexity of the market has also led to increased demands on market research and analyses - simple and short answers just do not work. Therefore, MECN spent several months compiling the most comprehensive and detailed report (ca. 120 pages) on the Spanish gambling market. The report includes detailed analyses of all relevant topics:
·Analyses of all sectors - The report analyses all sectors of the gambling market: focus on interactive/online gambling, betting, lottery, bingo, casinos, and gambling machines.
·Liberalisation process - Up-to-date information about the ongoing liberalisation, including detailed explanations of regulations (e.g., taxes, …) - produced in cooperation with the leading legal experts of Asensi Abogados.
·Current market figures - Comprehensive market data up to 2010, such as market size and development of sales/turnover as well as gross revenues.
·Forecasts to 2015 - Detailed forecasts (2011 to 2015) for all sectors with a special focus on the interactive/online market.
·Analyses of operators’ strategies - Analyses of operators’ strategic plans for Spain, relevant players today and in the future, …
·Unique insights through a survey of market insiders - Many analyses are based on the results and unique insights we gathered from our survey of Spanish market insiders and operators.
Gaming in Spain user data confirm industry leadership, with Spain and UK main users, all decision makers.
LinkedIn now gave us access to the user data of the Group. Although daily visitors numbers are not quoted, it gives a pretty good insight of who is using the group, what professional profile they have, and where they are based.
lets have a look at the Summary first
And some of the detailed Demographics: showing decision makers in the industry, overall.
And a breakdown by type of function:
As for location: Madrid, London and Barcelona are the known hotspots for the Spanish eGaming Industry, as per below:
The industries that members are active in:
And a clear peaks in usage around our Gaming In Spain Conference as well as post holiday pre licensing period.
We will release these data on a regular basis, but they are also available on a daily basis within the group, following this link:
Gaming in Spain had exclusive access to Alex Pratt, Founder of the iGB España Conference that takes place in Madrid next week, 18 and 19th of November 2011 in Madrid.
1: How many IGB Espana have you done now and what is the most significant change in the event you have noticed since?
This year will be our third iGB Espana although we did do a Spanish language day during our 2008 Barcelona affiliate expo and conference which was fundamental in kicking off this series of events. In terms of changes, there have been lots especially this year on the cusp of regulation as there is both a feeling of apprehension as well as excitement at what impact the changes will have on Spanish iGaming market. In addition to this we have seen the focus on the LatAm market grow very fast over and as a result now dedicate much of the conference to this fast emerging market.
What is great about iGB Espana is it was first started when the Spanish speaking markets weren’t necessarily the most fashionable markets to be in, but over the last four years the attention on these markets has grown substantially so the event has naturally become the central meeting place for executives, affiliates and suppliers who are focused on this high growth area. What this has meant for the event is that what started as primarily a conference for affiliates has become an event for the business to business side of the industry so we now see a lot of vendors and senior level operators attend alongside the affiliates which means we get a genuine 360 degree view of the market during the conference which is really unique and beneficial.
2: many of us don’t know much about the rest of your publishing business, can you explain shortly?
iGaming Business has grown a huge amount over the past 10 years since launch. When I first started 7 years ago it was just iGaming Business magazine and that was published on a quarterly basis. We now have two separate brands, iGB Affiliate which services the affiliate market with a magazine, directory, events and an online offering, and for the business to business side of the market we have iGaming Business magazine, directories, supplements, legal guides, daily email newlines and online. More recently we have developed an intelligence business selling data and research on a content licence basis to the market which has been extremely successful.
The best way to describe our business is as an information provider, and we do this using multiple platforms across the entire business of iGaming whilst at the same time facilitating business and relationships. It’s been an interesting ride and we have a lot more plans to roll out so look forward to growing further into other localised markets as well as improving our current offerings.
3: let’s talk numbers: how many affiliates and other visitors do you expect this year?
iGB Espana has historically surprised me each year with the volume of delegates it gets and this year looks no different. I think the reason for this is that compared to other iGaming events we don’t charge nearly as much but also localise the event 100% so all the content and delegates are completely relevant to the Spanish speaking market. On top of this we actively try to generate a networking environment throughout the event so as well as education a delegate will meet and network with many new contacts in iGaming guaranteeing new business, ideas and knowledge at a relatively low cost.
So, in answer to your question I expect us to have 400 delegates of which around 58% will be affiliates (based on last year’s figures) but as I say we are seeing more and more high level execs and vendors attend so I think it will eb a really interesting mix this year.
4: what are the highlights of this years conference session?
The conference this year is in my opinion the best we have produced so it’s pretty hard to pick a highlight but if I have had to, the sessions focused on the upcoming regulatory environment are a must. They will be extremely interesting to listen to from an immediate and the long term perspective of where the Spanish gaming market is moving towards. I am also very interested in the session focused on the LatAm market as I think there is a huge opportunity there but its an extremely misunderstood market that few are maximising at the moment.
5: Give me 1 reason why not to miss the event this year.
Difficult one, but if I could just choose one I would say because it is the oldest and still the only event in the market that genuinely brings together all the executives, affiliates and vendors that target the Spanish speaking market. If you are serious about making money in these countries then it is essential you attend to meet and learn in an environment that is 100% focused on this area.
NOTE
For an exclusive discount to iGB España please email willem@vanoort.org (only for members of Gaming in Spain Group, on LinkedIn)
Update 14.10.2011 ¿Quién solicitará una licencia online en España? | Who will ask for a license in Spain v 1.1
By popular demand, we are now publishing this list. Please inform me of any changes that you are aware of : willem@vanoort.org is my email address. This list will be updated regularly.
Gaming in Spain and @granviaonline to participate in iGamingSummit 2011 @ElRecreativo
We’re back from the Summer break and, hopefully, heading into the homestretch of a regulatory race that was initiated back in May, when the Spanish Gaming Regulatory Act was approved. In the theory, the process should culminate by mid-November, with the opening of an application period in which all interested companies will be able to apply for an on-line gaming license. If everything goes as expected, all Spaniards will have the opportunity to play in the first regulated on-line casinos and betting houses as a Christmas gift…
However and prior to the opening of the application period, all the development regulations must be approved. Right now, there are at least three Royal Decrees and more than twelve Ministerial Orders that need to be passed in order to complete the Spanish regulatory framework on gaming, so, there is quite a lot of work around and, unfortunately, not much time left: the call for early General Elections on the 20th of November has squeezed the margins to a minimum.
It seems that the guys at the General Directorate for the Regulation of Gaming have done their part of the work, as most of the drafts of such regulations exist and are being circulated, but its final signature and approval corresponds to the Minister of Economy (in the case of the Ministerial Orders) and to the Council of Ministers (in the case of Royal Decrees), and once there, factors that are beyond everyone’s control could slow down the process.
Considering how tight the deadlines are, a delay could be critical: if the licenses were not granted on January 1st, 2012 at the latest, a new period of legal uncertainty would arise, as in the theory the infringements and penalties regime contemplated in the Gaming Regulatory Act against non-licensed companies would start to be enforceable on that date, and amending an Act is not an easy thing…
The Ministry of Economy is under pressure and the whole industry also is… So let’s prepare the paperwork for the applications and hope everything goes well!
Pedro López
MartínAndino Abogados
MartínAndino Abogados is a Spanish law firm based in Madrid and specialized in on-line gaming issues
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