Spain – Online Casinos & Gambling Regulations
Spanish players have seen a lot of changes to the ways in which online casinos and sportsbook sites are governed over recent years, but things are finally settled as of 2019. This has meant that the laws are now fixed across the country and the previous state-based confusion has evaporated. Therefore, online casino players living in Spain have many options when choosing a new place to play slots, table games, and more. So, let’s get into the details of how you can find the best Spanish casinos, great welcome bonuses, and awesome casino entertainment.
Finding the best Spanish casino online
You certainly won’t lack for options when it comes to choosing a place at which to play within Spain. Many of the bigger, most established brands, as well as the smaller, startup companies, are competing within the market. That means a fabulous range of welcome bonuses will be available to attract you inside the virtual doors. Be sure to check on the full details of these, including the significant terms and conditions, by reading the casino reviews written by GoodLuckMate experts and slots enthusiasts. You’ll also find out about the following things:
We cover the full range of payment methods available at each site, including credit or debit card options, eWallets applicable to Spanish players, and good old bank wire transfers, for example. We’ll also detail some of the limits and time periods you will experience for each one. On top of that, we go into the level of customer support you can expect (and whether Spanish support is available), the types of promotions offered throughout the year and what games you can play. So, before you register at an online casino in Spain, be sure that you have done the following:
- Read the full GoodLuckMate online casino review
- Checked your choice of payment method is good to go
- Seen that the site shows all of its promotions in Euros
- Ensured that everything is translated into Spanish
- Gone over the welcome bonus terms and conditions
Once you’ve ticked off that little checklist and you’re happy to proceed with a brand, be sure to click on the welcome bonus banners on the GoodLuckMate casino review for the best deals.
Gambling regulation – Comision Nacional del Juego
Before the summer of 2019, the situation for Spain-based casino players was patchy, to say the least. While it could be fine for one person in a certain state to enjoy slots, for example, another in the neighboring region would not get the same privileges. Now, Comisión Nacional del Juego (the National Gaming Commission) has dictated that the same laws should apply to all Spanish citizens. This cleared up a rather messy regulatory system across the country, but also came with a downside. Once the new laws came into effect, everyone had to register a new account, regardless of how long they had been a player at a site. So while it effectively erased the databases that casinos had in the country, it did end up making the system much simpler for all.
One other outcome from the new national license from the Comision Nacional del Juego is that any site wanting to target Spanish players had to use the .es domain on their URL. This, however, has had an added benefit for players based in the country as they will more easily be able to find a range of sites that carry the official license and are protected by the national laws.
Localized online casinos
There are more than 450 million people who speak Spanish around the world (making it the second most spoken language behind Chinese), so you will no doubt be able to find plenty of sites translated into the language. And, as most of the sites who accept Spanish gamblers are based in Europe, you will also be able to use the Euro currency without a problem. Of course, those living in the country who speak English won’t have a problem either.
The only downside to the recent law changes is that a few of the major online casinos and sportsbook sites decided to pull out of Spain. So you might find that some of the most popular European brands simply aren’t accessible in the Iberian nation. Nevertheless, there are more than enough sites that are now happily set up in Spain, which is great for Spanish players.
Casinos in Spain
When it comes to land-based casinos in Spain, you will be spoilt for choice in all of the major cities, including Madrid, Barcelona, Seville, Valencia, Bilbao, and Malaga, to name but a few. All of the tourist resorts that attract Brits and Germans (among others) by their thousands each year will also be full to the brim with casino entertainment – plus there are slot parlors in near enough every town with a decently sized population. Retail sports betting shops exist all over, too, as well as outlets for playing the Spanish national lotteries – gambling is very popular in Spain!
Dispute resolution – can I get help from a third party?
A gambling license is intended to protect players, and one of its main functions is to provide a mechanism for resolving disputes when they come up. If you have a dispute with a casino, and the casino is being unreasonable, the gambling authority will help you. For many licenses, this means you can contact the gambling authority to get help processing your withdrawals, claiming money the casino has debited from your account, or resolving other disputes that might arise. The likelihood that the gambling authority will help you in ways that are effective, however, depends on the procedures they have in place for this. This is yet another reason why choosing to play at a casino that has a safe license is important.
Getting help directly from the gambling authority is not always necessary, or even an option. A lot of regulators have now enforced third-party dispute resolution. This means casinos must have an agreement with an arbitrator who will look into disputes on the behalf of players from a particular casino. This ensures your dispute will be reviewed by an objective third party. All trusted online casinos have information about arbitration on their websites if they use this option, or they’ll have the contact information for the gambling authority you should consult. However, you should always try to resolve your issues with the casino first, and a lot of casinos have separate email addresses specifically for handling complaints.
Secure payments – can I trust a casino with my money?
If you’re worried about the security of the transactions you’re making at a casino, you should look for a logo with the acronym PCI DSS. This stands for Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard, and this is something the payment industry has created. If you see this logo, it means the casino can be trusted for safe money transactions since they follow all of the rules set by the payment industry. Information about this can also be found in an FAQ section on the casino’s website.
Another thing to look out for in terms of payments is where your money is kept while you play. Some gambling authorities, all of the best ones actually, regulate what the casino can do with your money while they are holding it. Your money shouldn’t go into a general bank account held by the casino; it should go into an account that is strictly for holding player funds. This means that as long as you have the money in your player account, it can’t be spent by the casino. Your deposit will be kept separate from the operating funds of the casino until your player account is empty, which will happen if you make a funds withdrawal or if you lose the money while playing.Fair gaming – do the games give me a fair chance to win?
The best known system tool for ensuring that a casino offers fair games is eCogra; however, there are other providers that also offer these kinds of systems. You want to make sure that the casino is using a certified third-party control system to ensure that the games of chance you’re playing are actually based on chance and not on other types of metrics. Rigged games are ones that have been set up to pay out less than they claim to or ones that give some players a greater chance of winning than others.
The eCogra logo can often be found in the footer of the casino’s website, but not all casinos choose to display it. If you can’t see this logo, go to the FAQs and see if you can find information about random number generators. If there are no FAQs on the site, check out their terms and conditions or contact the casino’s support and ask how they ensure their games are safe.
Encrypted website – how is my information kept safe?
An SSL-encrypted website should be mandatory for any casino, and very few casinos operate without this or similar safe encryption features. Always keep in mind that you are giving the casino quite a bit of sensitive information, including your payment details. When you’re uploading and sending documents to verify your identity, you want to make sure that no unauthorized third-party has access to them. Site security, therefore, doesn’t only include the website itself but also what the casino does on the backend. You should always look into a casino’s data security. You’ll normally find information about this in their terms and conditions and their privacy policy. If in doubt, contact their support and ask for more detailed information.
Most trustworthy casinos have information about site security in the website footer, so simply scroll down and look for the logo of a well-known security system.
Gambling license – can I play at a casino from my country?
The gambling license a casino operates under will have a big impact on your security. Not all licenses are equally safe for players for the simple reason that they are issued by different gambling authorities that work in different ways and have different rules. The rules and regulations may be quite similar, but the way they are enforced is a different story entirely. For example, if a casino doesn’t comply with the regulations, some gambling authorities may just issue a fine while others may revoke the casino’s license outright. How often gambling authorities show up for an unscheduled inspection or control will also vary.
The biggest differences between a safe, high quality gambling license and one that isn’t as good will usually show up in the areas of fair gaming, dispute resolution and the rules and systems for identifying and handling problem gamblers (responsible gambling). If your country of residence has its own gambling authority, playing at casinos that are licensed by them will be the safest option for you. Other international licenses that can be trusted are issued by the Malta Gambling Authority and the Gibraltar Regulatory Authority. Curacao eGaming is getting better at protecting players whereas licenses from Panama and Costa Rica, for instance, are considered less safe. The worst option is obviously a casino with no license whatsoever.
Our casino experts have tried and tested all aspects of each and every casino, so you can feel confident when signing up.
