Casino Gran Madrid has announced that it will be shuttering its online poker room effective the end of this month. The site let its customers know via e-mail, citing too many obstacles to allow it to put forth a quality poker offering.
The casino’s internet poker off-shoot, CasinoGranMadrid.es, is part of iPoker Network Spain, the ring-fenced branch of the iPoker Network, restricted to only accepting players in Spain. After Casino Gran Madrid calls it a day, there will only be five member rooms remaining on the network: bet365.es, Betfair.es, PremierPoker.es, Sportium.es, and titanbet.es.
While most of those names, including Casino Gran Madrid, are fairly well-known, the network itself is largely a non-factor in the grand scheme of online poker. According to PokerScout.com, iPoker.es has a seven-day average of just 35 cash game players, compared to 900 for PokerStars.es and 280 for 888poker.es.
In breaking the news to players, the casino said that it is “unable to provide an attractive product in a hostile environment” but hopes to one day re-launch its online poker room “when we have a more attractive offer for players.”
The “hostile environment,” while not specified, almost certainly has to do with the double-whammy of Spain’s high corporate tax rate of 25 percent of gross gaming revenues and high personal tax rate of 20 percent of net poker winnings. Players have found that it has become increasingly difficult to remain profitably on Spanish sites, as the high corporate tax rate means higher rake and lower rewards, while the personal tax rate speaks for itself. Proponents of online poker regulation usually hail it as a way to keep players from frequenting “black market” offshore sites, but in this case, the poor regulatory structure has done the opposite and has driven players away from the Spanish regulated sites.
Casino Gran Madrid has advised players who wish to withdraw their money from the site can do so at any time, as the casino games portal will remain operational; players can opt to keep their money deposited and play games other than poker. Those who want to just withdraw have been advised to convert their VIP points to cash before August 31st, as after that date, all points will be zeroed out. Players may also use their cash and points to buy-in to tournaments at the brick-and-mortar casino (but again, points will disappear after August 31st).
The Casino Gran Madrid’s land-based casino is located in the municipality of Torrelodones, just a short drive northwest of the city-proper. It has served as host of several major poker festivals, including the European Poker Tour (EPT) Season 8 Madrid stop, the EPT Grand Final for Season 7, and the 2012 World Poker Tour National Madrid. The casino is also part of the annual rotation on the Estrellas Poker Tour, most recently hosting tournaments in March.
Casino Gran Madrid’s online poker room is just the latest Spanish site to get hit by the harsh taxation system in the country. PokerHeaven.es and efortuny.es, members of the International.es network, shut down at the end of June. International.es was struggling enough as it was, but at this point it is almost non-existent, with a seven-day average of just three cash game players.
