Following an appeal from Catalan employers of the High Court of Justice’s ruling that the City Council of El Prat de Llobregat can self-regulate gambling, the Spanish Supreme Court will now decide if urban municipality planning limits private gambling.
The City Council of El Prat de Llobregat attempted to claim self-gambling oversight in 2022, which was then appealed by Catalan employers, leading the High Court of Justice to eventually rule in favour of the Sector.
The Territorial Urban Planning Commission of the Barcelona metropolitan area definitively approved in 2022 that the Modification of the Metropolitan General Plan could regulate gambling establishments and smoker associations in El Prat de Llobregat.
The Municipality has now filed an appeal of the decision, admitted for processing by the Supreme Court which will soon establish doctrine.
On 17 June, Spanish regulator DGOJ released its Q1 2026 online gambling market report, showing gross gaming revenue (GGR) of €454.2m. This represents a 13.9% increase year-on-year despite a 6.5% decline compared with the previous quarter.
Online casino remained the largest segment, accounting for 54.56% of total GGR. Revenue reached €247.8m, up 21.77% year-on-year and 2.44% quarter-on-quarter. Slot machine games were the main driver of growth, recording an annual growth rate of 22.68%.
Sports betting generated GGR of €174.5m, up 5.1% from the same period last year, although revenue fell 17.2% from the previous quarter.
Meanwhile, the poker vertical reported GGR of €28.3m, rising 10.9% year-on-year but declining 2.9% quarter-on-quarter.
Bingo generated GGR of €3.6m and continued to decline, with revenue falling 4.22% compared with the previous quarter and 0.43% year-on-year.
The Spanish gambling regulator granted Codere Online a renewed technical certification for its roulette and blackjack systems on June 22, allowing the operator to offer both games until 2036
