bwin.party: € 33m License Fees in Spain

Bwin.party: € 33m License Fees in Spain / Picture: © Flickr

Online gaming firm bwin.party has received a letter from the Spanish tax authorities that costs the firm € 33m. The country is expected to issue lucrative online gaming licences at the beginning of June but has now ordered operators - like bwin.party - which already have customers in Spain to pay back-taxes under two historic laws that previously were not applied to offshore online gaming.

Having completed a self-assessment, the company says it will be handing over € 33m. The idea is “to secure the group's position in Spain in the context of its application for eGaming licences”, bwin.party said.

Some weeks ago, the Spanish tax authority contacted all of the major online gaming operators and made clear that, in their opinion, any online operator that has ever accepted customers from Spain has an obligation to pay Spanish taxes under two laws, one dating from 1966 and the other from 1977. Previously these laws were applied to operators based in Spain carrying out offline gaming activities and to certain kinds of bets (other than fixed odd bets).