Editors Letter
Editor’s letter
Welcome to the June 2017 edition of the iGaming
Business Market Monitor, where we look at the UK,
Danish and Spanish markets.
Starting off with the UK, there is no doubt the
biggest of those three markets is at a crossroads. The
UK igaming sector has had to contend with major
changes in regulation, starting with the introduction of
Point of Consumption at the end of 2014.
In terms of oversight, the UK Gambling Commission is also much more
aggressive and happy to dish out heavy fines under chief executive Sarah
Harrison than it ever was when Jenny Williams headed up the organisation.
On the political front the shadow of Brexit looms large over every aspect
of UK business life and gambling’s long-fabled resistance to economic
downturns will be sorely tested in the near and long term if the UK’s exit
from the European Union, and the uncertainty it is causing, affect British
punters’ spending power.
Denmark meanwhile has often been presented as the poster child of
igaming regulation. Reasonable, pretty fair on the whole and realistic of
the conditions online operators have to deal with. For a country with a
population of just 5.5 million, its igaming spend is characterised by mobile
adoption and new products, which translates into a market that is worth
nearly as much as that of Spain, which has a population 45 million.
The Iberian peninsula itself is going through some significant changes as
it slowly emerges from the tough slump caused by the 2008 financial crash.
The market is set for growth as the full igaming product suite starts to kick
for the licensed operators and a possible tax reduction from the current 25%
of gross gaming revenues would be most welcome by all companies there.
Nonetheless, for all the positive noises, Spain’s online gaming trade body
Jdigital has claimed that only a fifth of licensees working in the market are in
profit some five years after regulation.
A situation that is replicated in other regulated markets such as France
and must be addressed by the authorities.
As ever, your feedback is always welcome so feel free to send in your
views.
Jake Pollard
Report editor
iGaming Business Market Monitor • June 2017
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