Under pressure…

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 20^th 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 1^st, 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