Spain’s Council of Ministers approved over 30 youth-oriented responsible gaming measures.
Today, 14/03/23, Spain’s Council of Ministers approved the Royal Decree to develop safer gaming environments. This was a proposal by the Council of Ministers of the country in order to strengthen safer gambling protections.
These new regulations are the latest from the Ministry. They follow the previous 2020 Royal Decree of Commercial Communications , which significantly tightened the country’s gambling advertisement laws.
The ministry explained the reason for the new regulations in a statement.
The decree’s principal target is young people aged 18-25, who the ministry claims are particularly vulnerable to inappropriate messages and gaming patterns. However, regulations will also strengthen protections for other at-risk groups.
The government will use consumer spending to define risk profiles. A user with a net loss exceeding EUR600 (or EUR200 for those under 25) over three consecutive weeks will be classified as an intensive gambler.
Additional protections are also provided by the Royal Decree for players who request safer gambling restrictions on gambling accounts or have signed up to national self-exclusion registry.
Credit card ban
Operators will have to send warning messages to at-risk persons if they detect potentially harmful behaviour. They also need to keep a monthly summary of their gaming activity. Users in this category won’t be able use credit cards for gambling expenses.
This group includes players from gaming companies. They will be prohibited from sending them promotional material. These individuals will no longer be allowed to participate in VIP programs.
If the businesses have never had to contact the gaming industry before, they will not be permitted to send promotional materials to anyone between 18 and 25 years old. Gambling advertising will not be permitted to an individual who purchases tickets for a football match.
The Ministry stated that they cannot offer them better or more favorable conditions to increase their level of play.
Not conforming
Operators must also establish communication with at-risk players. The business can suspend an account if it does not receive a reply within 72 hours.
A message will be sent to younger users that early gambling is linked with increased risk of developing unsafe gambling behavior later in life.
According to the Ministry, businesses that fail to follow the new regulations could face sanctions. The penalties could include a fine up to EUR1m or a suspension for six months of the company’s gaming license. In addition, the statement stated that penalties for more serious offenses could reach EUR50m and lead to permanent loss of their gaming licence.
New rules are usually in force within six months after publication in the Official State Gazette. Some regulations that involve a high degree of technological complexity might take 12 months to enter effect.
Criticism from the industry
JDigital, a Spanish online operator, has criticised the Royal Decree.
It was pointed out that the Spanish regulatory system is one of the most stringent in Europe and currently has a falling rate of problem gambling.
The lobbying group stated that the Royal Decree “responds to a tendency by the national regulator to regulate activity that is already hyper-regulated. Where the measures and best practices of operators have contributed towards having truly secure environments, frameworks.”
JDigital stated that it supports regulation of the sector, provided such measures are proportionate to ensure safer gambling environments.
However, the body stated that regulation “cannot be an obstruction to sending political confusing and alarmist messages into society, about a perfectly secure sector, according to government information and in comparison to neighbouring countries and already battered since the entry into effect of the Royal Decree of Commercial Communications.”
“Now…that it has been regulated to restrict the activity of operators. We demand that the regulator is able to identify the potential opportunities to improve the Spanish gambling market and to increase investment in Spain.
Jdigital will continue to work with the Spanish regulator to create safe online gambling environments in Spain. This is the same approach it has taken up until now.
