Spanish trade body rails against “disproportionate and unjustified” ad ban

Spanish trade association JDigital has slammed the Spanish government over the accelerated implementation of new “unwarranted” rules on gambling advertising.

The trade body described the proposed regulations as “equally disproportionate and unjustified”, indicating that 80% of Spanish online gambling operators opposed the measures.

Earlier this month, the country’s government released a draft version of the Royal Decree on Commercial Communications of Gambling Activities, which expands and updates prior proposals put in place during the Covid-19 lockdown.

Measures to be implemented include a ban on all gambling sponsorships of Spanish sports clubs, restrictions on operator advertising to between 1am and 5am, and a general ban on welcome bonuses for consumers.

The draft decree has already been passed to the European Commission (EC) for approval, with a proviso for an accelerated passage into Spanish law.

JDigital has called on the EC not to approve the proposed legislation on the grounds that it is unnecessary and discriminates between private gambling operators and state-owned entities.

The trade body said it was “bewildered” that Spain’s national lottery was allowed to sign a sponsorship deal with two Spanish sports federations less than a day after the submission of the law to the EC.

“It is inadmissible that the EC accepts the request for emergency for the approval of a regulation that presents such a different treatment between public and private gambling, especially when gambling is a legal activity in Spain, already subject to strict controls and regulatory measures, most of them self-imposed by the sector itself,” the association said in a statement.

The association claims the measures are unevidenced and will increase activity across the black market, arguing that Spanish problem gambling is not a public health issue, as has been stated by the government in its justification for the new laws.

“It cannot be concluded that there is a public health problem with gambling in Spain and, therefore, the regulation of commercial communications in this sector should not be compared to that of other products such as tobacco or spirits, in which the addiction rates account for 34% and 5%, respectively,” JDigital added.

It has also questioned whether vulnerable groups will be protected by the changes and cited the impact of an €80m (£72m) loss in ad revenue for Spanish sports clubs, which have already been hit hard by the coronavirus pandemic.

“It is a norm that completely silences the industry, with important consequences in terms of jobs and tax collection, at a time of an economic crisis as harsh as the one we are experiencing.

“It is an ideological law, which has no support in data or studies, since in Spain there is no problem of gambling,” JDigital added.