Luckia’s president, José González Fuentes, and the company’s non-executive director, José González Suárez, spoke with staging-latam.next.io/ about the company’s international growth, generational succession and the challenges of reinventing itself while staying true to its Galician roots.
For José González Fuentes, founder and president of Luckia, the gaming and leisure operator of Galician origin, the vision has always been clear: to build sustainably and for the long term.
Luckia thinks in generations, not quarters. Perhaps that is why it has chosen to follow a different path from most major European operators, steering clear of excessive, disorderly growth, while maintaining a privileged position it has held in Spain for decades. Internationally, the company continues to pursue increasing its market share in Latin America, Africa and other parts of Europe, with the same long-term vocation.
“We live in a time when everything seems to invite constant attention-seeking: more visibility, more expansion, more presence, more growth. However, we have always tried to be guided by a different logic; that of building with humility and discretion rather than putting on appearances,” González Fuentes told staging-latam.next.io/. The idea is to grow without haste but without pause.
In an era of rapid entries into emerging markets, aggressive mergers and acquisitions, and far-reaching international expansion, prudence is a hallmark of Luckia’s identity and an advantage that has allowed it to compete on equal footing against global gaming giants.
Despite Luckia’s discreet and sensible approach — or perhaps because of it — there has always been interest from foreign capital in the A Coruña-based company.
“We’ve been offered buyouts many times,” González Fuentes has stated. The answer, of course, has been “no.”
The decision reflects a deeper conviction: scale matters, but strategy matters more.
“Experience has shown us that size is important, but it’s not everything,” González Fuentes has stressed.
Competing in a mature market
The Spanish online gaming market is one of the strictest and most regulated in Europe. According to González Fuentes, companies must learn to operate in this environment without sacrificing high standards and consumer protection.
Last June, the Government approved a new system of combined deposit limits per player, in a new effort to “strengthen the safety of online users.” This adds to existing restrictions on advertising and rigorous controls on activity.
Even so, the Spanish iGaming sector recorded gross gaming revenue (GGR) of 454.16 million euros during the first quarter of 2026, up 14% from the same period the previous year.
“Regulation is part of our industry and we must see it as a framework that provides security and trust for customers. However, it must leave room to compete on fairer terms with foreign platforms that are unlicensed and pay no taxes,” González Fuentes has stressed.
To address the challenge posed by illegal betting platforms, the key, according to the executive, lies in product, technology, customer understanding and personalization.
In this sense, family businesses like Luckia are well positioned to compete with larger groups. González Fuentes has highlighted the values of family firms, their deeply rooted corporate culture and their long-term vision, which make them more resilient to crises and more agile in decision-making.
“Well-managed family businesses have highly relevant competitive advantages: a long-term vision, a more stable culture, more agile decision-making and closer relationships with people,” he has stated.
“We have never tried to be the biggest. We have tried to be the best at what we do. And we still have a long way to go,” he has emphasized.
Galician roots, global ambition
Galicia is not just a place, but a way of thinking and working for Luckia. “There are places where we are present, and there are places that will stay with us wherever we go,” the company has explained.
Currently, Luckia has more than 2,700 employees on staff distributed across the eight countries where it operates. It manages more than 15 physical casinos and closed 2024 with revenue of 603 million euros, 6% more than the previous year, as well as an Ebitda of 58.3 million. The results for 2025 have not yet been published, but González Fuentes said he was “happy” with the direction things are heading.
“We believe in Galicia and Galicia has believed in us. From here we have built an international company and have shown that you can compete at the highest level from a community that has often had to fight against certain stereotypes,” the chairman highlighted.
Spain remains the main driver of Luckia’s revenue, although the operator has also gained ground in Latin America and Africa. It obtained an online gambling license from the Colombian regulatory body Coljuegos in 2018, and in 2024 it launched its betting web platform in Mexico and Cameroon.
“Our vocation is global, but our roots remain in Galicia,” he pointed out.
The importance of reinventing yourself without losing your essence
The commitment to local DNA is particularly important as Luckia continues to expand. The company’s next growth phase will be led by José González Suárez, nephew of José González Fuentes.
“I believe the best way to honour a legacy is not to try to reproduce it exactly, but to understand it and internalise it,” said González Fuentes, who will take the reins when his uncle departs, although there is currently no date set for the handover.
“My uncle José and my father Alfredo, together with many people who accompanied them, built a company through great effort and a strongly defined culture, based on respect for people, commitment and a long-term vision,” he commented.
The central challenge will be to modernise without losing identity. “My responsibility is to preserve the values that have made us strong and help adapt the company to a new stage. We must keep evolving without losing our essence. The sector is changing very fast: technology, customer habits, regulation and the way we compete,” he stated.
Luckia has already incorporated artificial intelligence into several of its key processes. The Galician firm is investing heavily in technology, data analysis and product development in a world where personalisation is vital.
“We use artificial intelligence where it can help us analyse data better, improve operational efficiency, personalise the customer experience and help our teams make better decisions,” said González Fuentes. He insisted that AI should enhance rather than replace jobs, since technology must be guided by human wisdom.
“At Luckia, we are not going to lay anyone off because of artificial intelligence. There are big tech companies that are taking advantage of the AI boom to justify staff cuts. It’s the perfect excuse to justify restructurings that are happening for other reasons,” stated Luckia’s nominee director.
“Technology must be at the service of people. AI should not replace talent, but multiply its capacity,” he argued.
The fact that Luckia remains a relevant player after so many years is neither a coincidence nor luck. It is the direct result of a way of understanding the sector that González Fuentes has been championing since the 70s.
Long-term commitment is not a slogan, but a conviction.
“My greatest achievement is having built an organisation capable of continuing to grow beyond its founder,” the businessman stated.
“Luckia’s first stage consisted of building a company. The next one was about ensuring that company keeps growing for many more decades. Each generation has a different mission. Ours was to create the project. José’s and his team’s will be to drive it into the future,” González Fuentes concluded.