GiG secures Spanish igaming licences

Gaming Innovation Group (GiG) has secured two new licences to offer its gambling services in the regulated Spanish market, while the operator and supplier has pledged to appeal a penalty fee levied by Swedish regulator Spelinspektionen.

Awarded by national regulator the Directorate General for the Regulation of Gambling in Spain, the licences cover both online casino and sports betting activities.

The igaming solutions provider plans to enter into the Spanish market via its flagship Rizk brand, while GiG will also certify its proprietary gaming platform and sportsbook, to sell to external licensed operators.

GiG expects to take its first bets in Spain in the fourth quarter of this year, with plans to scale up operations in early 2020.

“We are delighted to be awarded the Spanish licences and are looking forward to serving the market with our top performing operator Rizk and our full suite of B2C and B2B products and solutions,” GiG chief executive Robin Reed said.

“The approximately €1bn market is the strongest growing market in Europe, at a rate of approximately 20% per year, yet only 12% of the gambling is happening online, compared to more than 50% in mature digital markets in Europe, this represents a great opportunity for GiG.”

GiG also holds licences in Malta, the UK, the German State of Schleswig-Holstein, Sweden and Latvia.

GiG has said its Zecure Gaming subsidiary is planning to appeal an SEK3.5m (£296,735/€331,680/$374,703) financial penalty from Swedish regulator Spelinspektionen for allowing betting on sports events featuring a majority of participants under the age of 18.

Yesterday (July 1), Zecure was named as one of eight licensed operators to have been handed a penalty and official warning for breaching national laws on sports wagering.

Licensed operators are not permitted to offer odds on events where the majority of participants are under the age of 18, as this is seen to increase the danger of minors being exposed to attempts to manipulate sporting results.

Zecure was reprimanded for displaying an under-17 football match between Georgia and Slovakia on January 28 on its Swedish-facing site.

However, GiG said that the game was shown in error and Zecure did not accept any bets from end users based in Sweden. As such, it now intends to lodge an appeal with Spelinspektionen.

“The company does not agree with Spelinspektionen’s assessment and conclusion as the presentation of an event cannot be considered the same as accepting bets on U18 games for the purposes of both determining the infringement and the fine,” GiG said in a statement.

“GiG has taken the necessary measures to ensure that all games presented on the sites to end users in Sweden are in line with SGA’s requirements and interpretation.”

Zecure operates the BetSpin.com, Guts.com, GutsXpress.com, HighRoller.com, Kaboo.com, Rizk.com, SuperLenny.com and Thrills.com sites in Sweden.

Flutter Entertainment's Betfair International, Bethard Group, Casinostugan, GVC's ElectraWorks Limited, bet365 operator Hillside (Sports) ENC, Polar Limited and The Stars Group Interactive have also been handed penalties for breaching under-18 betting rules in Sweden.

Image: Max Pixel