Its believed the large British population in Spain is fuelling the online gambling explosion in the nation.

There are now more Britons living in Spain than in any other European country, aside from the UK, and British embassy staff say the real figure may be three times higher than official estimates. The southern Costa del Sol area alone has a British population - not counting tourists - of up to 300,000 people.

Some 47,000 British people moved to Spain last year alone.

The online gambling market in Spain is expected to grow to around $5 billion by 2010.

The Spanish gambling market is potentially the fastest growing market in the industry, with the potential to grow to around $50 billion by the year 2010, with online gambling expected to contribute $5 billion to the estimate.

The online gambling industry has suffered in recent times in countries like the USA, Germany and France. The lure of a less restrictive jurisdiction is at the core of the Spanish on line gambling strategy and explains why so many players in the country are getting involved online.

Following Spain's decision to regulate the gambling industry last year, there have been a flood of applications for the licenses on offer.

The Spanish lottery market is one of the largest in the world and shows that gambling is entrenched in the Spanish culture.
If the estimates are accurate online gambling will become very common place from Barcelona to Benidorm.