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Spain provides tax cuts for online gambling
Spain has reduced tax rates for online gambling operators in the country. The gambling industry, quite predictably, has hailed the move and termed it as an “absolutely fantastic” news.
The tax cut was announced in the recently presented 771-page annual budget. The budget has several tax reductions for online gambling operators, most importantly a 5 per cent reduction in gross gaming revenue, slashing the tax rate from 25 to 20 per cent.
The tax cuts will fuel profits and subsequent growth in the country’s booming online gambling sector. The Dirección General de Ordenación del Juego (DGOJ), Spain’s gambling regulator, recently reported a 27 per cent year-on-year increase in online gambling revenue for the first quarter of 2018.
Santiago Asensi, managing partner of Spanish gaming law firm Asensi Abogados, told iGamingBusiness.com that the new tax regulations will be “good news for everyone”, including the government coffers, which he believes will benefit from a hike in the tax take.
“Operators will be able to make better offers to the players who will not go to illegal markets,” he said. “The latest figures from the DGOJ show that all areas of online gambling are expanding, particularly with sports betting and online casino games, so I believe that these new measures will also lead to more tax being collected.”
Although the DGOJ has been lobbying the Spanish government for many years to reduce tax rates for online operators, Asensi acknowledged that it would have been “politically very difficult” to introduce such changes at a time of severe austerity across the broader economy, which endured a savage downturn during the global financial crisis.
However, with the economy having expanded by 3.1 per cent in 2017, driven by a significant increase in exports, Spain’s Ministry of Finance has found the right time to bring in the changes, buried in a lengthy document alongside hundreds of other budget decisions.
“The DGOJ has been working very hard to reduce the rate for years, but if a party had announced plans to reduce taxes for online gambling companies while asking for sacrifices from the general population, it wouldn’t have got many votes,” Asensi added.
“However, now the Spanish economy has recovered, it is the right time.”
The five per cent cut will apply to online fixed-odds betting and sports betting, fixed-odds horse racing, betting exchanges and online casino games, bingo and poker.
Companies located in the tiny Spanish enclaves of Ceuta and Melilla on the northern shores of Morocco’s Mediterranean coast will continue to be taxed at 10 per cent of online gross gaming revenues.
The tax rate on pari-mutuel sports betting gross gaming revenue was also cut from 22 to 20per cent, bringing the rate in line with state-owned betting services.
However, the tax rate for pari-mutuel horse racing and pari-mutuel pool betting gross gaming revenues has been increased from 15 to 20 per cent.
The changes were effective from July 1 and have been widely welcomed by companies with interests in the Spanish market who have long argued that the tax rates for online operators have been prohibitive. It emerged in April that Spain’s Congress of Deputies, the lower house of the national government, were looking at slashing tax rates for gambling operators.
Source: iGamingBusiness
Source: Latest News on European Gaming Media Network

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Pragmatic Play Launches 40,000x Jackpot Spellmaster Slot
iGaming software studio, Pragmatic Play, has unveiled its latest online slot, Spellmaster.
With its wizard-themed gameplay and 40,000x maximum jackpot, it will likely appeal to a broad audience, including big prize hunters and lovers of arcane fantasy.
Launched on August 18, the game is played on a 5×3 grid with 50 paylines. Reels are filled with card ranks as well as magical sceptres, spell books, potion bottles and wise owls.
Wild symbols feature the eponymous spellmaster wizard. Wilds can land at any time during the base game and feature in all but the far left reel.
The base game offers relatively standard fare. Basic symbols like the card symbols pay low prizes, which are enough to keep you in the game. Matching five premium symbols returns up to four times the original bet.
Respins And Jackpots
Players have the opportunity to win big prizes during respins. The game has different types of respin bonuses, depending on which of the three bonus orbs triggered the event. These bonuses are applied to money symbols that land during the spins.
Golden orb respins are played on a 5×6 grid. Golden orbs that land on the grid reveal one of five random jackpot names, and if the player matches three of the same jackpots, they win that prize.
Prizes range from the 12.5x Mini to the 1,875x Grand Jackpot. With red orbs, players receive multipliers between 2x and 10x any money symbols that hit, and the money symbols can be multiplied up to four times each.
Blue orbs multiply the value of randomly selected money symbols on the grid.
During the respins feature, if the entire grid is filled with money symbols, the player wins the impressive 40,000x jackpot.
Spellmaster offers bets ranging from 10p to £5 in the UK, although higher maximum bets up to €250 are available in other jurisdictions.
The game has a high volatility level, and RTP options include 94.5%, 95.5% and 96.5%. Interested bettors can play a demo of the Spellmaster game on the Pragmatic Play website.
The post Pragmatic Play Launches 40,000x Jackpot Spellmaster Slot appeared first on European Gaming Industry News.
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Endorphina Releases Electrifying New Title – Thunder Crown
Endorphina, a leading B2B iGaming provider, has announced the release of its newest electrifying title, Thunder Crown, which will be available to players in online casinos starting on 21 August.
Featuring a dynamic 5×5 grid, 50 fixed paylines, and a suite of powerful features, the new slot is designed to deliver a captivating and full-sensory gaming experience.
The game invites players into a realm where the legendary Thunder Crown awaits. As lightning strikes charge its crystals, the very reels and symbols are infused with the storm’s raw power, creating an electrifying atmosphere that builds with every spin.
Thunder Crown combines classic slot mechanics with lightning-charged features, including Free Games with a guaranteed Wild symbol, a Thunder Hold Bonus Game with multipliers up to x30, Column Jackpots from 50x to 1000x total bets, and Endorphina’s Classic Risk Game to double winnings up to 10x.
The release of Thunder Crown reinforces Endorphina’s commitment to crafting memorable and visually stunning games that appeal to a wide range of players.
Will you be the one to unlock the Crown’s full power? Try the Thunder Crown demo: demo.endorphina.network.
The post Endorphina Releases Electrifying New Title – Thunder Crown appeared first on European Gaming Industry News.
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NODWIN Gaming Acquires Sony Interactive Entertainment’s Stake in Evo; Becomes Majority Holder
EVO ANNOUNCES NEXT PHASE OF INTERNATIONAL EXPANSION
Multi-year partnerships with Qiddiya and Sony Interactive Entertainment, and new ownership of Evo by NODWIN Gaming alongside existing shareholder RTS, will fuel the global growth of events, content, and experiences
The future for Evolution Championship Series (Evo) takes a major step forward today as the world’s largest and longest-running fighting game festival enters new ownership and multi-year partnerships. Strategic agreements with NODWIN Gaming, Qiddiya, Sony Interactive Entertainment (SIE), and RTS will drive Evo’s international expansion, engaging content, and immersive experiences through 2028 and beyond.
SIE has sold its stake in Evo to NODWIN Gaming, a company backed by SIE’s parent, Sony Group Corporation. SIE will become a new global sponsor of Evo through 2028, and will continue its commitment to the fighting game community through the PlayStation Tournaments platform and key products currently in development that appeal to fighting game players.
“When SIE acquired Evo alongside RTS in 2021, our goal was to help the Evo community grow and spotlight the skills and passion of fighting game fans on a global stage,” said Phil Rosenberg, SVP and Head of Global Partner Development & Relations at Sony Interactive Entertainment. “As SIE transitions to become an Evo sponsor, the momentum for Evo has never been stronger, following a successful Las Vegas event and upcoming expansion to new regions. We look forward to supporting the continued growth of Evo globally.”
New co-owner NODWIN Gaming is a leading name in the South Asian gaming, esports, and youth entertainment industries, with Evo complementing its wide range of properties.
“Evo was built by a team whose authenticity and passion for the fighting game community are unmatched,” said NODWIN Gaming Co-Founder and Managing Director Akshat Rathee. “We will continue SIE’s great work and honor the legacy of everyone who has made it what it is today, while opening the door for a new generation to experience the spirit of Evo.”
Qiddiya, which became a global partner of Evo in 2024, announced today that the company is investing in RTS, co-owner and operator of Evo, and will extend its global partnership with Evo through 2027.
“Teaming up with Qiddiya strengthens the future of RTS and what we’re building with Evo, an event that lives up to its name by driving real transformation in the fighting game community through new opportunities, deeper connections, and meaningful growth,” said Stuart Saw, CEO of RTS.
The realignment and new partnerships will also support Evo’s vision for more original content to engage the community and continue to push the boundaries of creating more profound immersive experiences during the live events.
The popularity and global presence of Evo has continued to grow. Most recently, Evo’s flagship event in Las Vegas attracted fans and competitors from more than 60 countries and crowned champions across 16 fighting game titles. The festival show floor covered 14 acres, featuring major brand activations from Chipotle as the presenting sponsor, alongside AT&T, PlayStation®, Qiddiya, Nacon, Zenni, Red Bull, White Claw Zero Proof, Under Armour, Voodoo Ranger IPA, and Grand Archive TCG.
Beyond the US, Evo returned to Japan at Tokyo Big Sight and became the largest in-person tournament in the country’s history, with approximately 30,000 attendees. Evo will make its European debut at the Palais des Expos in Nice, France, on October 10-12, which has already broken a record for registrations. The event series is expanding to Singapore in 2027.
“In recent years, Evo hosted record-setting events in the USA and Japan, and our upcoming premiere in France is already breaking European records,” said Rick Thiher, General Manager of Evo. “These latest partnerships join the ongoing support from our global and regional partners in accelerating Evo’s expansion from hosting renowned live events to serving as a nexus point for fighting game culture worldwide.”
The post NODWIN Gaming Acquires Sony Interactive Entertainment’s Stake in Evo; Becomes Majority Holder appeared first on European Gaming Industry News.
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