Spanish regulator Alejo steps down
General director of DGOJ leaves for public television company RTVE after 16 months in the role
The general director of Spain’s gambling regulator Enrique Alejo has left the organisation after 16 months to join the country’s largest TV group as its corporate CEO.
Alejo joined the General Directorate for the Regulation of Gambling (DGOJ) in January 2012 and oversaw the opening of the Spanish online gaming market last June. Most recently he was responsible for the commitment to regulate exchange betting and online slot games.
Having spent the majority of his career in the public sector including with the Spanish Institute of Foreign Trade, he will join the public service broadcaster Corporación de Radio y Televisión Española (RTVE) to replace Teófilo GarcÃa BuendÃa who died at the age of 52 last month. eGaming Review understands the new DGOJ general director will be selected tomorrow.
The regulator came under fire earlier this year from operators who claimed the opening of the Spanish online poker market was handled poorly and led to PokerStars’ taking an unsurmountable lead. Chicco Merighi, the founder and president of Goalgaming group told eGR in January: “There are no good results in Spain for anyone apart from PokerStars. The situation is a consequence of something that has not been managed very well. All of the networks are finished, even if they won’t admit it.”
Alejo responded by saying he was “unconcerned” about whether the market is competitive or not, adding that the market was “taking its own course” and that as long as operators respect the laws, the DGOJ would not intervene.