Spain’s Balearic Islands order new warning signs on slots

Slot players will have to answer questions on an interactive warning screen.

Spain.- The regional government of the Balearic Islands has ordered the use of a new warning screen for land-based slots. Players will have to answer questions about their age and will have to confirm that they are “aware that the game can create addictions.”

Slots will also be prohibited from including some features that extend play and must have lights and sounds turned off when they are not being played, displaying only a still image of the warning screen.

The government says the new rules aim to protect vulnerable players and must be implemented by the end of 2024. There are around 5,000 machines on the islands, which include Mallorca, Menorca, Ibiza, and Formentera.

Spain bans seven online gambling operators over breaches

Last month, the Spanish gambling regulator, the Dirección General de Ordenación del Juego (DGOJ), reported that it had sanctioned 20 online gaming operators for serious or very serious infractions in the second half of 2022. It issued more than €35.5m in fines and suspended the licences of seven operators.

The Ministry of Consumer Affairs said that seven operators had committed “very serious” breaches. These were banned from offering online gambling in Spain for two years and were fined €5m each. Meanwhile, 13 operators were fined a combined €560,000 for “serious” infractions.

Nine of these were fined €10,000 each for infractions of advertising and marketing rules. The other four were fined between €125,000 and €160,000 for breaches of technical requirements or for allowing people who had self-excluded to gamble.

Meanwhile, Spain’s Council of Ministers has approved a new royal decree on gambling, bringing 30 new responsible gaming measures into law. The Royal Decree of the Development of Safer Gaming Environments had been proposed by the Ministry of Consumer Affairs and follows last year’s decree that introduced new advertising restrictions.