Jdigital condemns new gaming ad restrictions in Spain

Operators in Spain heavily criticize the newly-introduced gaming ad restrictions

The Spanish government introduced new measures putting restrictions on gaming advertising in the country, particularly the use of digital and audio-visual commercial communications, bonuses and sponsorship agreements. 

The following are some of these restrictions: 

• On television and radio broadcasting, the advertising time range have been shifted to only four hours, between 1 a.m and 5 a.m. 
• Age restrictions must be used online 
• Promotional bonuses have been prohibited
• Gambling sponsorship agreements with operators and football teams have to be vetoed (this will come to effect on the pre-existing ones by the end of the 20/21 Spanish season)

Jdigital, the Spanish operators’ association, criticised the new rules, suggesting that the restrictions will only backfire, causing the illegal market to flourish, which as a consequence will have terrible consequences when it comes to protecting vulnerable individuals..

The association also added that they want to defend the fact that online gambling should remain a responsible leisure option; something which the industry has always defended and will always defend. They then concluded by saying that

We consider the Royal Decree Project on Commercial Communications of Gambling Activities to be discriminatory, unfair and disproportionate, especially in a market where online gambling is a highly regulated legal activity and where the incidence rate of problematic gambling has remained stable at 0.3% of the population between 15 and 65 years of age since 2015, being one of the lowest in Europe.’