Spain Criticised Over Overseas Online Gambling Legislation
Royal Palace of Madrid
Spain has been criticised by the European Court of Justice over its favouritism towards domestic, or Spanish based, online gambling operators. While online gambling is a notoriously troublesome subject in the European Union, Spain’s decision to offer “tax breaks” to players who wager at home-grown casinos has been criticised and the Court of Justice has ruled they must amend their current gaming legislation.
At the moment, if a player wagers and wins through a Spanish operator, they usually aren’t liable to pay taxes on their winnings. However, if the same player heads to an offshore operator, such as Betfair, then they will be liable to pay full taxes on any winnings they receive.
Current EU legislation proposes that member states must offer other EU based companies the same rights as domestic brands and it’s been alleged Spain has contravened this agreement. Spanish officials have suggested that the tax breaks only apply to companies which place an impetus on charitable events, but the European Court of Justice has ruled that offshore operators who match these requirements must also receive the same tax break player benefits as their Spanish counterparts. It’s believed Spain will now begin to reconsider its current gambling legislation.
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