Spanish regulator adds AFE to monitoring service

The AFE can now use SIGMA and submit alerts about suspicious bets.

Spain.- The national gambling regulator, DGOJ, has announced that the Association of Spanish Footballers (AFE) has been added to its Global Betting Market Research Service (SIGMA). The AFE can now consult the betting integrity monitoring service and submit information about instances of suspicious bets placed on various sporting events. 

SIGMA was created under amendments to Spain’s 2011 Gambling Act passed in October 2022. The centrally controlled database allows registered bodies to cooperate against match-fixing and fraud through the processing of personal data. The network includes licensed gaming operators, the National Sports Council, sports federations and professional leagues. 

Last May, Spain’s national police force announced an agreement to investigate possible match-fixing via access to SIGMA. The Ministry of Consumer Affairs reached a five-year agreement with the Ministry of the Interior’s General Police Directorate to allow criminal investigations using SIGMA. The police force can access SIGMA data and will investigate the alerts raised.

Spanish gambling reforms

In November, Pablo Bustinduy was named as Spain’s minister for social rights, replacing Alberto Garzon at the helm of the Ministry of Consumer Affairs, which has responsibility for gambling policy. Garzon had previously announced his retirement.

Bustinduy was 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.

Garzon had taken a dim view of gambling, introducing a wide range of reforms intended to protect consumers. That included a ban on gambling sponsorships in sport in 2020, along with reduced hours for broadcast gambling advertising. The next phase of his planned reforms is already in motion, as the Royal Decree on Responsible Gaming Environments was approved in March.