A tourist attraction and a wonder in its own unique way, houses two magnificent gambling in Spain casinos one being the Casino Gran Aranjuez, and the other being Casino Gran Madrid Torrelodones. Casino Gran Aranjuez is an exclusive and vibrant casino open daily from 3pm to 6am. Spanish online casinos are any online casino sites that accept bets from citizens of Spain and allow financial transactions in Euros. Though the legal landscape of online gambling in Spain is changing, Spanish people do for the most part currently have access to legal online gambling. Big changes are on the horizon for online gambling in Spain.

Casino Español de Manila is a club established in 1893 by Spaniards living in the Philippines as their exclusive venue for recreational and social activities. It later opened its doors to Filipino members to foster Spanish-Filipino ties in the country.^[1] The club is located at 855 Teodoro M. Kalaw Avenue, Ermita, Manila.

History[edit]

Spanish period[edit]

Earlier records show that Governor General Narciso Claveria y Zaldua formalized the foundation of the casino in Manila on October 31, 1844,^[2] the date which is celebrated by the casino as the year of its founding.

American colonial period[edit]

The first building of the Casino Español de Manila was built in 1913 but formally opened in 1917. It was designed by architect Juan Arellano,^[3] incorporating influences of neo-renaissance style.^[4]

The structure used to occupy the whole block from Taft Avenue to San Marcelino St. and housed the offices of the Spanish Chamber of Commerce and the Consulate General of Spain. As the official clubhouse and social venue of the Spanish community, the building’s reception and banquet halls hosted parties, celebrations and balls. Among the noted events in this venue in the 1930s was the extravagant party held to celebrate the birthday of the King of Spain. Apart from attending parties in its halls, guests could also view the garden from the terrace while members could play tennis and pelota games in its courts.^[1]

In 1945, the structure was destroyed in World War II during the Liberation of Manila. The club was temporarily moved to a two-story house along Apacible St. (formerly Oregon) and Perez St. in Paco, Manila.^[1][3]

Post-War period[edit]

In 1951, Casino Español de Manila was rebuilt on its original site through the help of Ignacio Planas.^[3] Parts of the property were sold and the new structure was built facing San Luis St. (now T.M. Kalaw St.).^[1] The new clubhouse was designed by architect José María Zaragoza using the prevalent post-World War II “Filipino-California-Spanish style”. The structure has arched verandas surrounding an inner courtyard.^[5]

The new Casino Español de Manila was inaugurated on November 3, 1951 with President Elpidio Quirino and Vice-President Fernando Lopez in attendance. In 1962, it played host to King Juan Carlos de Borbon, who was then the Crown Prince at that time, and Queen Sofia. The Queen returned to the club in year 2000 during an official visit to the Philippines.^[1]

Present-day club[edit]

While Casino Español de Manila caters to its members only, it now welcomes guests and visitors to its compound. The club holds events in its open-air Patio de Orquidias. It has a restaurant that offers Spanish food in its menu. At the back, it has a fronton that is used for jai alai and pelota games. Right beside the casino is the former site of the Instituto Cervantes Manila where Spanish classes were held, promoting the Spanish culture in the Philippines.^[1]

Football[edit]

The club has organized a football team. Casino Español fielded a team at the 1935 Philippines Football Championship.^[6]

References[edit]

1. ^ ^abcdefTorres, Jose Victor. 'The Iberian Social Club'. Metrozines: Metro Society. Metro Society. Retrieved 25 May 2014.
2. ^'Casino Español de Manila – Metro Manila'. PHelpy. Archived from the original on 25 May 2014. Retrieved 25 May 2014.
3. ^ ^abc'National Registry of Historic Sites and Structures in the Philippines: Casino Español de Manila'. National Registry of Historic Sites and Structures in the Philippines. National Historical Commission of the Philippines. Retrieved 25 May 2014.
4. ^Villaruel, Nicole (22 November 2013). 'American Colonial Contemporary Architecture'. Retrieved 25 May 2014.
5. ^Villalon, Augusto (28 August 2006). 'Spanish heritage complex in the heart of Manila'. Heritage Conservation Society. Philippine Daily Inquirer. Archived from the original on 25 May 2014. Retrieved 25 May 2014.
6. ^Stokkermans, Karel. 'Philippines 1935'. Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation. Retrieved 25 March 2015.

External links[edit]

• Casino Español de Manila on Facebook

Coordinates: 14°35′03″N120°59′06″E / 14.584108°N 120.984942°E

Spain is a member of the European Union and the native currency of Spain is the Euro. Thanks to the Euro, citizens of Spain have access to lots of online gambling sites. Europe is a major market for online casinos, especially after many were forced out of the North American market. Because of a focus on the European market, it’s easy to find online casino sites that do business in Euros.

Spanish online casinos are any online casino sites that accept bets from citizens of Spain and allow financial transactions in Euros. Though the legal landscape of online gambling in Spain is changing, Spanish people do for the most part currently have access to legal online gambling. Big changes are on the horizon for online gambling in Spain, as the Spanish government moves to regulate and control online casino gambling much like state governments in the US or governments in some regions of Europe.

Spanish Cassoulet Recipes

Is Online Gambling Legal in Spain?

Spain has fairly relaxed gambling laws. All forms of gambling are legal in Spain, including traditional casino gambling, online casino play, lotteries, and sportsbooks. All of these forms of gambling are controlled by the government, but are available in some form in Spain’s borders.

Legal gambling in Spain is a product of the late 20th century. For 150 years of Spain’s history, from the early 19th century into the 1970s, all forms of gambling were illegal in Spain except for state-sponsored lotteries. In 1977, the Spanish government, hurting for new sources of revenue, legalized and started regulating skill-based gambling. It took another four years for the Spanish government to get comfortable enough with gambling revenue to legalize games of chance, so slot machines and other luck-based games weren’t legal until 1981.

These days, the Spanish gambling industry is in a period of renaissance, making Spain one of the busiest gambling nations in the world. The Spanish people spend twice as much on gambling every year as the gambling-happy UK. Because of heightened activity in gaming, new legislation has been passed or is in the works to give the Spanish government a piece of the online gambling pie.

In 2008, Spain was divided into 17 gambling districts, with each region given the exclusive power to grant gambling licenses. As of this writing, Spain is home to 40 casinos and more than 250,000 gambling machines such as slots in airports and bars. The only country with more standalone gaming machines is the UK. Sportsbooks are hugely popular in this football-crazed country, with legal sports gambling making up a big chunk of the increased gaming revenue throughout Spain.

In order to gain a foothold in the online market, new legislation about online gambling in Spain is changing as this is being written. Starting in 2002, the Spanish government started researching ways to regulate and legalize online gambling and allow for online casino sites to earn gaming licenses from the Spanish government. According to industry analysts, we will see Spanish-based online gambling licenses available to EU-based casino site operators sometime in the next two years.

In short, online casino gambling is fully legal throughout Spain. In fact, Spanish gamblers will soon have a lot of new options for online gambling, thanks to the Spanish governments involvement in the control of online gambling websites.

Spanish Online Casinos & Playing For Real Money in Euros

The Euro is one of the most valuable currencies in the world, and also one of the most widely-accepted currencies at online casino sites. Finding a casino that does business in Euros can save you from paying stiff fees or spending time and money converting your own currency.

Since citizens of Spain use the Euro as their native currency, it is important for online gamblers in Spain to play at real online casinos that accept financial transactions in Euros. Currency conversion is a possibility, especially since so many eWallets and other payment transfer methods have their own currency conversion systems, but since so many online casinos accept the Euro for deposits and withdrawals, there’s no reason to choose the expense of currency conversion and the time added to your transaction while you want for your currency to convert.

While you’re at it, look for casinos that offer their software or customer support services in Spanish. Many Spanish people speak Spanish as their native language, though a small portion of the population of Spain speak Catalan. It is far easier to find an online casino that supports the Spanish language than one that supports Catalan. But the good news is, many international casino websites do offer Spanish software or customer service. With so many online casinos catering to Spanish players, it doesn’t make sense to stumble through another language or struggle to use another currency.

The Future of Online Casinos in Spain

For the first time since gambling was decriminalized in 1977 and then again in 1981, there have been big changes to Spanish online gambling law, and more are on their way.

The Spanish Council of Ministers is working on legislation that is being fast-tracked through the Spanish political system to put laws in place that build a tax plan for all online bets. These laws will also outline the legal framework for Spain’s casino gambling licensing system, a guide for casino operators that want to earn casino gambling licensing or work directly with Spanish gamblers.

Like pro-gambling legislation in other countries, these new laws are designed to protect minors and problem gamblers; this was required to get the law through the more conservative areas of the Spanish government.

Spanish Caso

Already, one land based Spanish casino operator (Gran Madrid) has earned the first online operator license from Spain, a feat they accomplished in May of 2011. The next step for the Spanish government will be to launch an IPO in 2012 to privatize their national public lottery, providing additional tax revenue of €6 billion to help put a dent in the national debt. We can only assume that an IPO for the new Spanish casino gambling venture can follow.

Spanish Casino Names

The Spanish government was uncomfortable with what it called a “legal vacuum” that online gambling operated in, the same legal vacuum that online gambling occupies in North America. Without a legal framework in place to control online gambling in Spain, the Spanish government was essentially allowing unregulated gambling to take place. Other world governments would be smart to follow Spain’s example.