T
he Minister of Consumption, Alberto Garzón, unveiled that in “a few weeks” the Council of Ministers will approve a decree on Commercial Communications of Gambling Activities. He also said that the regulation will bring Spain to the forefront of gambling ads regulation in Europe.
At a Senate meeting, Garzón explained that the gambling industry is experiencing a growth that is heavily frowned upon and is causing deep damage to the most vulnerable sectors of the society. “We are talking about vulnerable sectors such as children and working households,” Garzón said. “These sectors are more likely to wrongfully believe that they can solve their deeply rooted financial struggles with just a few clicks.”
So, according to the Minister, “we need to panic” about recent data that shows that in 2019, 40% of new players were less than 26. “The industry is growing by taking advantage of the most vulnerable sectors of the society, and much is thanks to advertising, which normalizes this activity and can have dreadful consequences. The lack of regulations is leading us to live by ‘the law of the jungle’,” he added.
Garzón added that his Ministry is working towards a comprehensive plan to tackle problem gambling because the issue “does not end in advertising prohibition” and that further measures will be announced in the next few months. “We have a social problem with the entertainment model we are providing to Spanish young people,” he added. “Our cities have more betting shops than green areas, and that is even worse when we consider that those spaces are currently closed, but betting shops are open.”
