Spain ends lockdown gambling ad restrictions
Government calls time on three-month prohibition as La Liga shirt sponsorships get go-ahead greenlight
Spain’s government has repealed temporary gambling advertising limits as part of Covid-19 lockdown relaxation measures.
The easing of marketing restrictions was confirmed by the government in decree 21/2020, allowing Spanish market operators to advertise freely.
In addition, La Liga football clubs will now be permitted to feature gambling sponsorships on kits and in-stadia advertising, just in time for the top-flight to resume on Thursday.
Earlier this week, questions had been raised over the status of Spanish gambling sponsorships, with eight La Liga teams being sponsored by gambling firms, including bwin with Valencia and Marathonbet with Sevilla.
Valencia getting ready for possible return of #LaLiga.💪📸 pic.twitter.com/siaNTZFofb
— bwin (@bwin) May 22, 2020
Under previous emergency measures enacted in April, all gambling advertising via TV, radio and online video sites was restricted to between 1am and 5am. In addition, all bonuses and promotional offers were prohibited, while a blanket ban on marketing to players via email came into force.
The restrictions were enacted on public health grounds, as part of efforts to counteract a perceived rise in online gambling harms by individuals in lockdown.
Spanish gaming analyst Eduardo Morales Hermo welcomed the end of the measures, while highlighting the negative impact of lost sports betting revenue on the market during shutdown, as online casino and bingo could not fill the revenue void.
“With very few exceptions of those operators exclusively focused on casino and bingo, the majority of the operators were impacted by the loss in sports betting revenues and consequently overall GGR fell 10% in the first quarter of 2020, decreasing to a loss of between 30-35% in Q2,” said Morales Hermo.
“The absence of retail gambling was insufficient to substantially improve the online gambling vertical. In fact, the percentage of total Spanish GGR made up from online gambling has only increased by between 4-5%, growing market share from 12% to 17% over these last 12-plus weeks of lockdown,” he added.
However, the Spanish government could reinstitute advertising measures on a permanent basis post-lockdown, with parliament expected to debate widening marketing restrictions in the summer.