The Spanish Minister of Consumer Affairs, Alberto Garzón, is about to start a public consultation on a new draft Royal Decree designed to make the country’s online gambling market safer and fairer for players. The draft will set out new standards for intervention, control and prevention so as to protect gamblers.
How will the New Law Protect Gamblers?
He claimed that: “This comprehensive vision that will allow the process to be completed successfully will require the collaboration of all stakeholders.”. The country’s Responsible Gambling Advisory Council is involved in the development of the draft; alongside representatives of the national lotteries Organización Nacional de Ciegos Españoles (ONCE) and Sociedad Estatal Loterías y Apuestas del Estado (SELAE), Spanish bookies and software providers, like Playtech. This amendment comes after a year in which the Consumer Affairs Ministry acted on controlling the country's betting landscape.
One of the measures taken was the ban on sports betting sponsorship and limiting gambling-related TV and radio advertisements between 1 am and 5 am, as well as raising player protection standards by unifying self-exclusion schemes. Agreed in September, the regional authorities have been given up to a year to complete any technical work necessary to integrate the databases.