However, Cejuego emphasised that while there was an “important” need for regulation over the advertising of online gambling which puts “clear limits” in place, it should “be the same for all players in the industry, whether it be public or private.” At the same time, Cejuego emphasised the important role the industry plays in the economy.
According to the statement, the private gaming sector in Spain is already highly regulated with “a high level of self-regulation that serves as a benchmark in Europe, and provides a controlled, legal and legitimate leisure offer.” Meanwhile only 0.3% show signs of gambling addiction while Cejuego aims to reduce this to 0%.
The sector already develops, as part of its corporate social responsibility policy, prevention and awareness campaigns aimed at reducing gambling addiction. Both via online gaming and in the land-based sector the participation of minors is prohibited and, in both cases, “all the efforts required by the authorities are put in place so that their participation in this activity is zero.”
Cejuego also argues that gaming is an intrinsic part of the entertainment sector which Spaniards have been enjoying for more than 40 years, since, according to the latest official study of the Directorate General for the Regulation of Gambling (DGOJ), 75% of the population confirm that they gamble and the vast majority (96.5%) enjoy it naturally, without generating any difficulty.
Cejuego also highlighted the impact of the industry on the industry. “The private gaming industry in Spain is a sector that makes an important economic and social contribution. It contributes to the generation of 2.3% of the Gross Domestic Product and generates more than 120,000 direct and indirect jobs, contributing an annual average of more than €1,200 million to the public coffers.”
There have been a wide number of recent press reports when it comes to the advertising of gambling and a recent agreement with the government and the Podemos Party to restrict gambling advertising in Spain. Crucially for any operator in Spain the agreement now states that the publicity of gambling statewide, explicitly would be treated “in a similar way to that of tobacco products.”
The agreement could mean major changes to how gambling is regulated by the state as it will promote a wide-ranging number of additional player protection measures. It is the first time that a total ban on advertising has been brought up as an option.
Source: GMB / G3 Newswire
