Alberto Garzón, Spain’s Minister of Consumer Affairs, has informed the top La Liga teams that any gambling-related sponsorship agreement must end at the end of the 2020-21 season.
The Royal decree on advertising is about to be published in the coming days. New deals between Spanish football teams and gambling operators will be prohibited. The existing deals will get into a transitional period and should not be continued beyond the end of the current football season.
The main point of concern, according to government sources, was the gamblers’ age. More specifically, the percentage of gamblers between 18-25 years was around 29% 4 years ago. This figure has risen to 40%. The total amount of money spent on gambling has increased as well, reaching a 13% rise in comparison to the previous year’s numbers.
The gist behind the decision taken has a scientific background, which suggests that starting gambling from an early age, may cause future gambling-related harm. Garzón claimed that there is a direct link between betting advertising and the rate of new bettors.
It is worth noting though that betting sites in Spain generated a total gross revenue of €208.9m from the 1st of April up to the 30th of June 2020.