Spanish online casinos for Real Money

Gambling was re-legalised in Spain in 1977. The Spanish Gaming and its subsequent amendments ensure that Spanish players are entitled to gamble in virtually all seventeen of Spain’s provinces. Why does that matter? There are separate gambling laws in place – namely national and provincial laws. Fortunately, they largely say the same thing.

Online gambling in Spain was only legalised in 2011 by the same Spanish Gaming Act of 2011. However, online casinos were first tolerated at around the same time as sportsbooks made it big in Spain, back in 2006. In 2006, they were only legal if they were run by the state monopoly, a lottery company known as Loterias y Apuestas del Estadio. However, the 2011 law change opened the industry to foreign sites as long as they were based in the European Union and applied for a Spanish gambling license.

Spain does try to shut out unlicensed operators and has been rather successful at doing that. However, under EU law, Spain can only do this to operators that haven’t applied for a Spanish gambling license. If they have applied (and been denied one), then they are effectively legal casinos.

Spain is quite funny when it comes to the types of gambling games it permits. Only selected casino games can be played. Some provinces do not permit live dealer games save for roulette, and some sites aren’t permitted to offer slot machines, known as gambling machines in Spain. Ultimately, these types of things only apply to online casinos. If you’re in any sort of doubt about what a Spanish casino offers, then head to our Spanish casino reviews to find out what you can expect to see before you join.

Licenses can only be issued by the General Directorate for the Regulation of Gambling Activities. In Spanish, this is known as DGOJ or the Direccion General de Ordenacion del Juego. You can expect seriously strict regulation when it comes to online gambling in Spain. Gambling advertisements are effectively outlawed (outside of certain conditions), and welcome bonuses are prohibited. Similarly, there are limits on what you can play, deposit and claim.

Spanish casinos are required to have a full set of responsible gambling tools, and the Spanish gambling authorities regularly check those casinos to ensure that they are adhering to fair play rules. Failing to do so could see those sites lose their licenses.

It is worth noting that Spain taxes both casinos and players alike. Spain’s taxes are actually at the higher end of those you can find across the European Union. Naturally, the amount of tax you’ll end up paying depends on how much you win. We’ll get into that shortly.

Spanish players love to bet on sports, but they also have a penchant for lottery and table games. Live dealer games can be a bit fiddly in Spain, with roulette being the only major game offered at some online casinos. You can get around this by playing at offshore casinos catering to Spanish players. Moreover, you won’t be punished for taking this route.

Spanish bettors do like slot machines, but not every casino offers them. Ultimately, it can vary from site to site. Spain is home to a handful of casino software providers, too, but none of them has really hit the same heights as those from, say, Scandinavia or the UK.

Because Spaniards are quite keen on betting on a broad array of games, you’re advised to choose a casino that caters to all your needs in one site. It isn’t a coincidence that many top Spanish casinos also offer sports betting, lottery, and bingo games under the same roof.

Spanish-licensed online casinos are only open to players residing in the country. Fortunately, there are other casinos (notably EU-licensed ones) which Spanish players can join, too. Assuming you join a top casino (like the ones we recommend) and one that isn’t blocked by the Spanish ISPs, then you can sign up and play. Most offshore casinos accept players from Spain and even go as far as offering their services – both gameplay and support – in Spanish, to boot.