Spanish gambling has been made aware of an “intrusive amendment” sought by the government to reimpose advertising restrictions on licensed operators.

Revealed by the Spanish online gambling association Jdigital, the PSOE/Sumar government has adopted an “unrelated amendment” to the Decree to Establish a State Agency for Public Health.

The amendment will reintroduce advertising restrictions, limiting gambling advertisements on social media platforms, prohibiting bonus promotions, and banning the use of public figures.

Reviewed by the Supreme Court of Spain, the above restrictions were “partially annulled” in April, as articles of the Royal Decree on Advertising – the Spanish government’s federal mandate to impose restrictions on gambling advertising across Spanish media.

Judges sided with an appeal from Jdigital and the Information Media Association (AMI), who had accused the Ministry of Consumer Affairs of bypassing “federal applications” to include the restrictions as measures of the Royal Decree.

Since November 2022, the Spanish government has applied the laws of the Royal Decree on advertising, limiting gambling advertisements on media platforms from 1–5 AM.

The Decree imposed a blanket ban on all forms of gambling sponsorships in professional sports (excluding state lotteries), with substantial fines for non-compliance.

Following the Supreme Court annulment, Pablo Bustinduy, Spain’s new Minister of Consumer Affairs, warned operators that annulled restrictions would be reintroduced as federal measures.

Jdigital: Government must come to table on Code of Conduct 

Jorge Hinojosa, General Director of Jdigital, commented: “We knew that it was their will to restore articles, but in no case have they anticipated us.”

Jdigital maintains that the best solution is for the government to address the “Code of Conduct” on advertising and marketing endorsed by members of its trade body.

On customer incentives, Hinojosa noted that Jdigital members had accepted the Code of Conduct’s measure to limit bonuses to €200 – “The government’s idea is to abolish them, regardless of the amount offered.”

Hinojosa suggests collaborating with the government and parliamentary groups to improve the existing Code of Conduct instead of imposing impractical restrictions sought by the Ministry of Consumer Affairs.

The trade body states that it carries the support of Spanish media to form a coherent code of conduct for gambling advertising. However, the government has yet to explain its reluctance to engage in discussions.

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