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M&A IN THE SPANISH GAMBLING MARKET Regular Gambling Insider contributor Xavi Muñoz Bellvehí (xmunoz@ecijalegal.com), gaming lawyer at Spanish law firm ECIJA, analyses the M&A options for entering the Spanish gambling market THE MARKET The Spanish gambling and betting market was regulated in 2011 by Law 13/2011 and a series of statutory regulations. There are currently around 80 operators holding gambling licences and around 65 actively offering their online gambling and betting services in Spain. The third
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window for the Spanish gaming licences closed at the end of year 2018. Since a new licensing window is not expected any time soon and gambling licences are non-transferable, they can only be acquired or sold in the framework of an M&A transaction. Therefore, any company wishing to enter the Spanish gaming market can only obtain
a Spanish licence by acquiring an already existing operator. And any operator wishing to sell all or part of his business should prepare for it. The offering of any gambling or betting activity in Spain is subject to obtaining a prior licence. The Law foresees three types of licences: General Licence, Singular Licence
