Just a few years ago, it was predicted that the Spanish online gambling market could grow to a very attractive €4.2 billion by 2010. These were some pretty tempting numbers for online casino, online poker, bingo and sports betting sites - certainly enough to get them interested in this business. New studies released are predicting growth in the near future to €39 billion, and this has the cash-strapped Spanish Government sitting up and taking notice too. It is not news that the high tech industry which supports these activities; is a solid mainstream, and highly paid industry too.

Europe is a massive target market for operators who know there is just no way they will get back into the US online gambling marketplace any time soon. In terms of the "Spanish" market; in its current context, only refers to Spain. But there are numerous countries around the world with Spanish speaking populations, and in fact, many of the sites which used to offer online gambling to US residents, offered these in Spanish too. So, there are a whole host of countries for which Spain could provide a hub for an online gambling licensing jurisdiction. This in itself would impact massively on its economy - the online gambling licensing industry has done the same for Gibraltar, Malta, Cyprus, Alderney, Isle of Man and so on.

Spain is now high on the target list for marketers who are now all but completely excluded from the American market. They are a major region for future growth, and the Government is fully aware of this fact.

Some time ago - major brand William Hill group had already started expanding into Spain. Spanish Football teams are being sponsored by online gambling companies, although with the dip in economy, even famous FC's have been struggling to get sponsors on board. Spain has also not as yet done everything it needs to do in the way of creating a legal jurisdiction. But there are many autonomous regions in Spain; all of whom are apparently working toward liberalisation in this market. It is believed that the sports betting sector as well as other interactive gambling will fare very well, and the Spanish also love their bingo. There are already a number of online bingo sites, dedicated to this market alone, and considerable growth has been seen.

The biggest problems to overcome are conflicts with the traditional gambling sector, and this appears to be one of the major driving forces for the problems in the US. Spain is a far less restrictive country, even less so than France, and France has their two little ducks in a row, so to speak. Spain is an attractive jurisdiction with even more attractive growth potential, and now that the Government has decided take the 'regulation' route, there is big promise in more ways than one. The opportunities for additional revenue is highly attractive, as is the fact that salaries for high tech personnel are excellent - they will also be spending their money in this country in which even the real estate industry has not picked up. The unemployment rate is shocking, and new growth can only be a good thing.