Spanish Regulator Gears up for Fight Against Illegal Operators

This week, Spanish gambling authority, the Dirección General de Ordenación del Juego (DGoJ), decided to crack down on illegal operations, ordering twelve unlicensed operators to cease their activities in the Spanish market. The companies in question are UWin Poker, Betsson, Gaming VC (Betboo), Come On Europe Ltd, DreamMakers Gaming Tech, Tempo Gaming Ltd, RM Royal Media Group NV, Midas Player Ltd, Media Entertainment, 12Bet Ltd., 10bet and Globet International Sports. They have ten days in which to comply with the DGoJ's order, otherwise they'll face severe fines. Denying that his company should be on the list, Betsson's chief executive officer Magnus Silfverberg explained: “We have no business whatsoever in Spain — we don't target Spain or do anything in Spain, but we have a site in Spanish for the many people around the world who speak Spanish." It was also stated by Sacha Michaud, president of the Spanish Association of Digital Gaming JDigital: "The closure of the websites of those operators who have not complied with regulations demonstrates the degree of seriousness and professionalism that we can find in the Spanish online gambling market, which is a clear indication that we are going in the right direction. "Action should be taken against unlicensed operators to have a safe and orderly market but without losing sight of the fact that the occurrence of these cases shows that more work is needed to ensure the Spanish market is attractive enough for customers preventing them from seeking out unregulated operators."