Spain represents a more than emerging market for casino and sports betting since they began to grant licenses to operate in national territory. Some studies say that in 2016 alone more than two million Spanish accessed pages of this sector and according to the General Directorate of Gambling this generates about 35 million euros in the country.
However, much of that benefit would be affected if the industrial engine of the country will be separated. Not only would Catalonia's GDP decrease by 20%, but the country risk would also increase, and protectionist measures could be applied.
These are just some of the consequences that could come, although the first ones are already visible.
Banks such as Sabadell or Caixabank have moved their headquarters to other points of the Spanish geographical area outside Catalonia and with them other companies of all profiles and sectors. (READ SO: THE BREXIT PUTS IN RISK THE WHOLE GAMBLING INDUSTRY)
At the level of the network, all the Spanish websites dedicated to gambling would automatically be left without the right to offer their services within Catalonia.
This would mean, among other things, that the accounts opened in Catalan territory would be affected to the point of being suspended, which would make it extremely difficult to recover the profits from them to all users. In the same line, the operations of bets and online casinos would be paralyzed.
Many of the companies in the game would choose to move to Madrid, where the current regulations within Spain would be maintained. The objective of this sector is to expand and create business in the maximum number of countries possible to expand the number of players and not quite the opposite. (READ SO: HOW FRANCE ELECTIONS AFFECTED ONLINE POKER)
In parallel, Gibraltar will cease to be an advantageous place soon for the companies that have implanted there their main headquarters of the game, because it will raise the tax rate. It is very likely that this flow of money will seek refuge in other corners of Europe.
