Lottery games remain reserved for the monopoly. STATUS: The Gambling Law( as amended) introduced a legal framework for a fully regulated online gambling market and requires licences to be held by online gambling operators, as well as software providers, payment processors, affiliates and testing labs. The secondary legislation that fully implemented the current licensing regime came into force on 26 February 2016. The gambling regulator actively polices the regime and notifies ISPs to block blacklisted websites. In March 2025, a legislative proposal was submitted to parliament that aims, among other things, to introduce a cap on deposits based on the monthly income of the account holder.
SLOVAKIA
REGULATED GAMBLING PRODUCTS: Sports betting, horse race betting, poker, casino, bingo and lottery. OPERATOR TYPE: Private operators can apply for licences for online casino and for sports betting licences. Lottery and bingo remain reserved for the monopoly provider. STATUS: The Gambling Law came into force on 1 March 2019. It allows private operators outside of Slovakia to apply for licences for sports betting and casino, although sports betting licences did not take effect until 1 July 2020. In July 2022, the Slovakian gambling regulator created a whitelist of websites that are run by licensed operators in Slovakia.
SLOVENIA
REGULATED GAMBLING PRODUCTS: Sports betting, horse race betting, poker, casino, bingo and lottery. OPERATOR TYPE: Online gambling must be operated by land-based casinos or lotteries and thus only the monopoly holds online licences in Slovenia. STATUS: The requirement that only landbased Slovenian operators are eligible for licences is considered by certain industry stakeholders to be incompatible with EU law. In September 2021, draft amendments to the Gaming Act were published by the government that seek to address the Act’ s compatibility with EU law. It is understood that little progress has been made since the draft amendments were published.
SPAIN
REGULATED GAMBLING PRODUCTS: Sports betting, horse race betting, poker, casino, bingo and lottery. OPERATOR TYPE: Private operators can apply for licences for all gambling products save for lottery. STATUS: Operators must hold a general licence and a specific licence, both issued by the National Gambling Commission, for each activity. Remote gambling licences are granted within specific application windows. The last tender process for applications closed on 18 December 2018. In September 2023, a Royal Decree entered into force that strengthens responsible gambling measures in Spain. For example, operators must ensure that players are prohibited from using credit cards and receiving marketing messages if they lose more than a certain amount( depending on age) in the preceding three weeks. In April 2023, a consultation in relation to a proposal to introduce a universal‘ economic limit’ – i. e. whereby a customer’ s deposit limit(€ 600 daily / € 1,500 weekly) would apply universally across all operators as opposed to a deposit limit per operator closed. The proposal was subsequently notified to the European Commission in September 2024 and the standstill period ended on 23 December 2024.
SWEDEN
REGULATED GAMBLING PRODUCTS: Betting( including sports, horse race, pool and exchanges), casino, poker, bingo
and lottery. OPERATOR TYPE: Licences are available for private operators. STATUS: As of 1 January 2019, Sweden is a fully regulated market. All gambling operators that wish to offer their services to Swedish residents will be required to obtain a licence in order to validly do so( either a‘ betting’ licence or a‘ commercial online games’ licence, depending on the product( s) being offered). Active enforcement measures are in place. On 1 July 2023:( i) provisions amending Sweden’ s Gambling Act that introduce a B2B licensing regime for online software suppliers entered into effect; and( ii) regulations that grant the Swedish gambling regulator greater supervisory powers( e. g. the ability to carry out test purchases anonymously) took effect. In February 2025, the Swedish government announced that the scope and application of Sweden’ s gambling legislation will be reviewed by the Board of Consumer Complaints. It is anticipated that the conclusions of the review will be reported on in September 2025.
Wiggin is a law firm dedicated to supporting the media, entertainment and gaming sectors. Its market-leading betting and gaming group provides specialist legal services to an array of gambling industry stakeholders. We advise many of the world’ s leading gambling operators and suppliers and also enjoy helping entrepreneurial, interactive startup businesses. If you’ d like to hear more, contact us at gambling @ wiggin. co. uk
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