Elimination of temporary measures
Spain has ended the temporary restrictions on gambling ads that have been in place during the coronavirus pandemic.
The cancellation of the more stringent rules was announced via a new Royal Decree on June 10. Royal Decree-Law 21/2020 was published in the Official State Gazette, repealing Article 37 of the Royal Decree Law 11/2020 that originally installed stricter advertising regulations for the gambling industry.
nearly 290,000 confirmed cases of COVID-19 in Spain
The State of Emergency in Spain has been in place since March 13, set to come to an end on June 21. There have been nearly 290,000 confirmed cases of COVID-19 in Spain, the fifth-most of any country, and 27,136 confirmed deaths as of Wednesday night.
Restrictions were tight
The restrictions put the clamps down on most gambling advertising. Things such as free bets, discounts, and bonuses were not allowable. Direct advertising through social media and direct e-mail communications to customers was also banned.
Gambling operators were not permitted to mention the pandemic, either implicitly or explicitly, in advertising campaigns. Ads were barred from being shown on radio, television, and internet video outside of a 1am to 5am window.
New, tough regulations on the way
While these temporary restrictions are gone, there are other future plans to curtail gambling operators’ advertising efforts, announced in February. They include a ban on advertising at certain times of the day, references to bonus offers in ads, and public figures being used as spokespeople.
Operators will no longer be able to promote gambling as a way to achieve social or financial success and all acquisition bonuses will be maxed out at €100 ($113.65). Operators can only send e-mails after double-checking that the recipients are not in Spain’s self-exclusion database or are deemed to be at-risk gamblers.
must be a responsible gambling message included after every four normal gambling ads
New social media measures will help stop underage people from being subjected to gambling ads and there must be a responsible gambling message included after every four normal gambling ads.
