Spain sets gambling advertising regulations

The government from Spain has unveiled plans to crack down on gambling advertising.

Spain.- Alberto Garzon, Spain’s consumer protection minister, unveiled last week the plans to regulate advertising by gambling companies and casinos. The proposal aims to protect vulnerable people and youth.

The government wants to reduce gambling advertising on television by 80% and ban companies from partnering with celebrities to make gambling products and services more attractive to the public.

“The regulation has to be similar to tobacco,” Garzon said. “We are not regulating the textile sector here, but a sector that has an impact on public health,” explained the consumer protection minister.

The new regulation also includes a ban on marketing offers such as free bets to new customers. Garzon believes that these things attract vulnerable groups and young people into gambling.

Moreover, the new proposal aims to prevent football teams from selling youth jerseys with gambling brands on them.

While the plans need to be discussed by the cabinet before sending them to the parliament and being effective, Garzon is confident that they will pass.

“The issue of gambling advertising in Spain is chaos. It is the law of the jungle. It is a public health problem in which we have to intervene,” the Minister of Consumer Affairs recently said.

He added: “Some autonomous communities have a list of self-excluded people who know they have a problem. However, if they pass to another autonomous community they can bet. These gaps exist, but there are things to regulate.”