Spanish court rejects appeal against gambling ad ban
The trade group Jdigital had argued that the rules were unconstitutional.
Spain.- The Constitutional Court has unanimously rejected an appeal against Spain’s Royal Decree on Advertising. The online gambling trade body Jdigital had suggested that the decree did not have proper constitutional oversight.
The legislation was implemented in November 2021 after being drawn up by the then Minister of Consumer Affairs, Alberto Garzon, who has recently retired from politics. It introduced a ban on gambling sponsorship in sports and limited broadcast and social media gambling advertising to between the hours of 1am and 5am.
Jdigital had lodged a legal challenge immediately, claiming that constitutional procedures were bypassed. The association also questioned whether advertising rules fell under the remit of the Ministry of Consumer Affairs. However, the Constitutional Court has ruled that the ministry made the relevant amendments to Spain’s Gambling Act before putting through changes to advertising rules.
New rules and new Spanish gambling minister
In March, a new royal decree on gambling was approved by Spain’s Council of Ministers, 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.
The decree has a notable focus on young people aged between 18 and 25, which the ministry says are more vulnerable to inappropriate messages about gaming. However, it includes measures for all gamblers.
More recently, Alberto Garzon has been replaced by Pablo Bustinduy. who has been named as Spain’s minister for social rights at the helm of the Ministry of Consumer Affairs, which has responsibility for gambling policy. Bustinduy is among 22 new appointments to the senior cabinet of the new progressive government formed by Spain’s president Pedro Sanchez. He is a member of the new Sumar Party.
