The group chaired by Manuel Lao appointed a new director just a few months ago in order to give a new impulse to its bingo and amusement arcade business in Spain. Only nine months after his appointment, Albert Puyol, the former managing director of the fashion company Loewe, has left the gaming and leisure Group formed by the conglomerate of Cirsa companies.

The Spanish gaming market has always been a legal maze, suitable only for specialists or for those who, possessed with an infinite patience, are able to digest the interminable legislative changes that are forever taking place in the different autonomous regions. The professionals and businessmen who operate within the Spanish market have to make an enormous effort to keep themselves up to date.

The implementation of the present anti-smoking law in Spain, approved in 2005, has been very irregular. The Madrid autonomous government, without going any further, approved in November 2006 a much more permissive decree than that prescribed by the law which, among other things, allows smoking in the bars at the workplace and eliminates the necessity to physically separate the smoking areas in premises of more than 100 square meters.

Juan Ceva, Honorary President of the FEMARA Association (Spanish Federation of Amusement Machines) and Javier Franch President of CEJ (Spanish Confederation of Organizations of Gaming Industries) have been protagonists for different reasons. On 10th December FEMARA paid a warm tribute to its founder and President for more than 25 years, Juan Ceva Alonso. Present for the occasion were representatives of all the business organizations that comprise the Federation; thanking them for their attendance was the Technical Secretary General of FEMARA, Miguel García Campos.

Two of the most important companies in the Spanish gaming sector, CIRSA and CODERE hope to finish the 2009 financial year with positive results. As at 30th September Cirsa had achieved an income of €1,220 million, with an operating profit (EBITDA) of €157 million, a 5% increase on the same period of 2008, which means that in the third quarter it invoiced 405 million euros, with an operating profit of 55 million, a 3% increase in comparison with the same quarter of the previous year.

For several years, casinos, bingo halls and amusement arcades have been competing with great difficulty against the online betting companies that are proliferating due to the lack of control in most countries and independent communities. In the Basque Country they are not regulated, resulting in a legal vacuum that the Basque Government wants to fill, and it has decreed that it will intervene in the matter “with immediate effect”.

On 22nd October, the judging panel met in the offices of the Europer Association (Association of Catalonian operators) belonging to the PIMEC Confederation (Confederation of Small and Medium Commercialised Businesses) to decide on the 4th biennial amusement awards. These awards identify at a national level those companies and people from the Spanish world of amusement whose main objective is to make everyone aware of the reality of a very dynamic business sector.

SERVITRONIC has been in the market place for 25 years. It started trading in October 1984 in the Andalucian city of Seville with inexhaustible reserves of capital, capital which was none other than its own human capital. For just under two years the initial premises of the company remained small. Then Andrés A. Soto Acuña became president of the company. After five years of consolidating the firm as a distributor in the Andalucian region for the best manufacturers of amusement machines, midway through 1992 negotiations began with the larger and most important group of companies, not only in Spain, but also the most important internationally-speaking, the CIRSA Group.

AGEO, the Galician Association of Operating Companies, is questioning the data on receipts from type B amusement machines in Galicia in the 2008 Annual Report on Gaming in Spain, produced by the Ministry of the Interior. This report talks about an increase of 72% in receipts in the Galician region in comparison to those for the previous year. However, for AGEO these data are simply estimates, since they do not take into account the fact that there are a significant number of machines that are inoperative in the warehouse or temporarily suspended.

The visible face of the Gran Scala in Spain - the Scottish executive Mark Campbell, has temporarily left his role as Director of Communications in the ILD partnership in Spain to take on other professional challenges in the United States. This does not mean the project is taking a step back, quite the opposite in fact. ILD wanted to demonstrate in October that the Gran Scala project is still going ahead. And it did this by completing the second phase of the purchase options that it had signed to acquire another 1,012 hectares of land. Although this happened scarcely two hours before the deadline, Paul Allegrini, managing partner, gave cheques to the 68 property owners who were waiting patiently in the Ontiñena social club.

At last Codere and the brothers Joaquín and Jesús Franco have formally resolved the dispute which had arisen between both parties over the payment of the 41% of the Codere capital. As a result of the agreement the Chairman and majority shareholder of Codere, José Antonio Martínez Sampedro, has reduced his shareholding in the bingo and casino operator. According to the data that appear in the CNMV* register, Martínez Sampedro controls 63.14% of the voting rights of the company, as opposed to the 65.85% that he held previously.

The Spanish Market has always been surprising and at the very least unique. It is one of most important in Europe but also surely one of the most difficult in which to operate. Whoever wants to do so must comply with the particular legislation that breaks down into different regulations within each of the different autonomous regions and the end result is a constantly changing set of gaming regulations. Take this example. Hardly had the Regulations for the Madrid autonomous region been approved than the first amendments had appeared. Something like "where it says... it must say" which qualifies several of its articles and forces a revision of its conclusions. For its part the Valencian autonomous government has approved a new Regulation for Amusement Arcades.

Following four years of negotiations, the Council of the Government of the Autonomous Region of Madrid has finally approved the Amusement Machines and Arcades regulation that will govern this gaming activity for the next few years. The incorporation of the special electronic bingo machine, or B3, is one of its more significant innovations and was the one that generated the greatest controversy in all the discussions that have taken place during these years.

Aprenderpoker.net which is a leading online portal leader providing poker news and training in Spanish, is extending its offer each month with a new computer program that improves the learning process for its users and takes the game of poker to an ever widening and more diverse public. With this new application, the advance of online poker in Spain continues. For some days, the users have been able to find a free game among the training contents of the Web. This game will allow them to actually participate in the game of poker with the sole objective of amusing themselves, without running any kind of risk.

On 8th September in the press room of Ciutat Esportiva Joan Gamper the  agreement between the two organizations was announced. FC Barcelona is looking for new financial resources and to this end it has signed a sponsorship agreement with the British company Betfair, dedicated to betting over the Internet. The agreement includes publicity on fences and in various places around the Camp Nou, although at no time does it contemplate including the name of the English company on the team's dark red and blue shirts.

The bingo industry has been experiencing a significant fall in its takings for quite some time now, despite desperately attempting to update its resources in the hope of  motivating its regular clients. Everyone involved, government, managers and workers alike are making a big effort to find a way out of the crisis.

The Minister of the Interior in the Catalan Autonomous Government, Joan Saura, has signed a pioneering "Good Practices" protocol with the current representatives of the Gaming Industry who form part of the Commission for the Promotion of Responsible Gaming. Xavier González, Javier Miró, Albert Sola and Jaume Terradas took part in the signing as representatives of Patrojoc, the employer's Private Gaming association in Catalonia; Manuel Lao Gorina for Cirsa; Jaume Ferré for the Peralada Group, and Joaquín Franco representing Facomare and Recreativos Franco.

At the last General Meeting of ANESAR, the association which comprises the owners of arcades, it was clear that joint actions were called for. Its president, Rafael Martínez, explained with clarity the actions that need to be taken for this business group to survive the present crisis. These proposals have been brought together in a document called the "Decalogue" which has been accepted by most of the associations involved. In brief, this document contains three sections.

The Cirsa Gaming Corporation has presented its results up to March of the present financial year. Cirsa has recorded an operating revenue of 411 million euros, with an operating profit of 52 million euros, which represents a growth of 9% over the same period of the previous year.

The commercial launch of the GigaVegas machine, the most recent creation of Conei's Industrial Division, which was presented at the Andalusian Fair in Málaga, took place in Barcelona and Valencia last month. With the image of Elvis Presley as backdrop, emulating the spectacular atmosphere of the Las Vegas casinos,  Gigames has attempted to transfer into the bars and restaurants the attraction that comes from combining a traditional machine with the new technological trend of incorporating a video screen.

The XIV Cofar Congress took place in June in the Intercontinental Hotel in Madrid. Once again this year it saw the gathering of the most representative Associations in the Spanish Private Gaming Sector. Several papers were presented to the Congress during the day. Distinguished speakers together with various legislators analyzed the current market situation.

The European Union has condemned Spain for not regulating the lotteries and random combinations and commercial draws which are being developed at the present time. In this regard, the central Administration and the autonomous communities must act immediately to regulate aspects such as the deceptive publicity and the use of lotteries and random combinations for commercial gain, following the sentence by the EU Court of Justice in Luxembourg, which has condemned the Spanish State for not transposing the Directive from the European Parliament and the Council dated 11th May 2005 on unfair commercial practices of companies in their relations with the consumers in the internal market.

CIRSA's income for 2008 was 1,704 million euros with an operating profit (EBITDA) of 193 million euros, which represents an increase of 17.2% on profits on the previous year. The results reflect the growth the Group has sustained over the past 12 quarters. The collaboration of the various divisions within the Group was one of the keys to the success.

In order to improve its prospects, Andalusian Bingo is looking to the trials suggested by the Technical Gaming Committee. Electronic Bingo is the focus of attention of the Andalusian Bingo Managers with the trials that will take place in the coming months (although unlikely before June) in Andalusian Bingo Halls under the guidance of the Technical Gaming Committee, the body that brings together those responsible for gaming in the Andalusian government, the managers of the halls and the unions.

Amusement machines in Catalonia saw a drop of 11% in takings during the first few months of this year. And in bingo halls, there was a drop of 15%. Lotteries have recorded a fall of 5.5%, somewhat less than the sales of tickets by Once and the State-run games and lotteries, with 6% fewer sales.

R. FRANCO, conscious of the lack of security at present in arcades, has included the SIPAR (System of Remote Payment) protocol in all its plans for these premises. With the call from ANESAR (National Association of Amusement Arcades Managers) to fit amusement machines with a system to make it possible to reduce the amount of cash being played, R. FRANCO working together with FACOMARE set about this task.

Rolf Klug, a member of the management board of the Gauselmann Group, has decided to leave the company after 13 years to pursue a career as a self-employed industry consultant in the greater area of Kassel.

A law for gaming in the autonomous region of Aragón. This it is the only requirement that is lacking before the province of Huesca can become the great Casino of Spain. According to sources close to Gran Scala, there is only one more obstacle to be overcome : the Aragonese law, which has to regulate gaming and which must allow a concentration of casinos as proposed by ILD. In fact, Spyland, Spaceport, Sport Market, Realities and Novomatic are waiting for the legal viability of the project to be confirmed.

After acceptance of the Code on responsible gaming by all the casinos and 32 of the 50 bingo halls in Catalonia, the General Directorate for Gaming in this autonomous region has started to issue its first directives. The application of these measures becomes a reality with the adjustment of the software for the Binjocs lottery terminals, which are to be found on the premises of Bingo Halls, so that these terminals send warning messages about responsible gaming to the people playing.

Just two or three years ago poker did not feature in the list of games at some of the Spanish casinos. Now there coexist large European tournaments that are played simultaneously such as the EPT (European Poker Tour) with local series that are organised by each of the Spanish casinos, not forgetting Texas Hold´em which has its own electronic version. At the last two Spanish fairs they have continued to produce multiplayer versions of this machine intended mainly for the arcades that are licensed for type "B" machines. As an example of the popularity of the game, suffice it to say that it is generating a new form of tourism.

As a prior step before its participation in the Málaga Fair, the Carfama company organized an event in Barcelona to present its new line of products for this season. More than one hundred representatives of the main operators and distributors in the autonomous region met in the Baccara room of the Casino de Barcelona. They showed great interest in the advantages of the models on display, among them, the "Captain Morgan" machine from the Greek manufacturer Vlassis which is imported by the Murcian company Videmur and guarantees an excellent quality of play thanks to its high standards in terms of both image and sound, as well as the latest generation of technical devices that turn the machine into a guaranteed success.

Exactly a year ago the Catalan Parliament's General Department for Gaming and the private gaming companies in Catalonia agreed to set up a Working Group to produce a code of practice and to develop the concept of "Responsible Gaming" as a joint venture. One year later, all the casinos and 32 of the 50 bingo halls in Catalonia have signed up to this Code.

Recreativos Franco arranged a meeting in Seville last month for the joint presentation with SLEIC of the new company, Top Poker Connection, which has been formed as the result of the agreement reached between them both. This new company will be responsible for marketing the new electronic poker tables. The meeting was attended by most of the operating companies in the sector and by many members of the public, numbering nearly two hundred, all eager to learn about the products from the two companies. Top Poker Club, is a poker table that could be seen at the recent fair in London and that is already all the rage in the arcades and casinos where it has been installed.

In order to mark the final phase of Basketball's King's Cup in February, Sportium introduced an entertaining initiative to promote its betting shops in Madrid. Through this initiative, thousands of the inhabitants of Madrid could enjoy basketball in the street thanks to the event organized by Sportium, which had set up a pitch in the street with baskets, balls, music and cheerleaders in order to test the abilities of anyone who wished to participate in the free throw and triple shot championships.

The CODERE Group, the leading Spanish multinational in the private gaming sector, has announced its consolidated results for 2008 which show the Group's continuing growth in its main markets in Latin America (Mexico and Argentina), despite the complex global economic environment. Revenues in 2008 reached 1,054.3 million euros, 19.8% higher than in 2007.

For urgent and unavoidable reasons and with little less than a month before the event was due to take place, the organizers of the Málaga Fair have been forced to delay the opening of the Spanish gaming fair. The Fair has been rescheduled for 22nd to 24th April. No-one can fail to appreciate the difficulties in organizing a fair, especially if the event is about gaming.

At the beginning of 2008, an operation called "Operation Arcade" was launched by the Servicio de Control de Juegos de Azar (Department for the Control of Games of Chance), and the Unidad Central de Inteligencia Criminal (Central Criminal Intelligence Unit), with the object of successfully collecting all the information relating to crimes  committed in amusement arcades, against their owners or their employees in the exercise of their work or on account of same, for its subsequent application to operational plans.

Spain has always been a country of contrasts. At the present time there are two large projects to prove this - ‘Gran Scala' and ‘El Mundo de Don Quixote' (The World of Don Quixote). Whilst the first is going ahead with its initial investments, the second is suffering the consequences of the financial crisis and is announcing measures to withdraw.

Madrid will be welcoming the Leaders of Online Gaming to discuss its imminent regulation. It seems that Spain is getting ever closer to regulating gaming in casinos and online betting at state level. At the next conference on "Online Gaming in Spain", which is planned to take place in March at the Intercontinental Hotel in Madrid, the Technical General Secretary of the Department of the Interior (National Commission for Gaming), Mª Ángeles González, will offer an exclusive insight into the progress of the regulatory plans and what the resulting scenario might be.

On the contrary however, the betting companies established in Spain do not seem to be feeling the credit crunch. In those regions where this activity has been approved the number of premises dedicated to betting in person continues to grow. At the start of 2009, Pozuelo de Alarcón, Boadilla del Monte and Las Rozas will have premises dedicated exclusively to sporting bets, run by the Intralot company which, under its trade name Apuesta Oé, is already established in other towns in the Madrid autonomous region such as Colmenar Viejo.