Director of Gambling: Unproblematic betting activity
The recently implemented Spanish gambling regulations, specifically the advertising restrictions for private gambling companies, have been a popular topic of discussion. Mikel Arana, head of the DGOJ (Dirección General de Ordenación del Juego), has gone on record saying that gambling does not pose a public health concern in Spain. He based his claim not only on his own research but also on a study conducted by the University of Madrid. What are the findings?
Minimal Impact from Gambling?
During a call with the Madrid Workers' Commission (CCOO), DGOJ Chairman Mikel Arana shared his thoughts on Spain's new gambling rules, which took effect in October 2020. According to these regulations, gambling is not currently a significant public health problem. However, it is necessary to ensure that compulsive gambling does not rise.
The rules have faced backlash, with significant advertising restrictions for private gambling providers. There is a prohibition against gambling-associated sponsorship and bonuses. Audiovisual gambling advertisements are also completely prohibited, except between 1:00 am and 5:00 am. In the sports industry, where betting sponsorship is now prevalent, there are concerns of millions in potential losses.
Despite the government's efforts cracking down on gambling, Mikel Arana does not foresee any problems: "Based on surveys conducted by the regulatory authority, the majority of people who gamble do so as a pastime, and there are very few associated health issues, whether in an online casino or a game arcade. This doesn't mean that players should be prevented from increasing their gambling frequency, though."
Spanish industry associations like Jdigital are criticizing the fact that only private gambling firms face such stringent measures, yet the state lotteries ONCE and SELAE are untouched. They argue that the Spanish government is favoring state-operated providers without using data, facts, or research to back up their decision. According to Jdigital, the authorities are arbitrarily targeting private firms while ignoring the market dominance of state providers.
Agreeing Studies
Multiple studies support Mikel Arana's assertions, including the nation's recent drug report. It states that the rate of problem gambling in Spain is below 0.5% of the population aged 15-64. The number has remained constant since 2015, and there has even been a decline.
A similar conclusion was drawn from a recent study by the University of Madrid: the rate of problem gambling in Spain is just 0.3%, lower than most countries. With 84.9% of respondents claiming to participate in some form of gambling each year, this low number is intriguing.
The study further revealed that last year, 25.8 million people participated in the Christmas lottery, 14.5 million in the El Niño lottery,14 million in Primitiva lotteries, and 8.5 million in ONCE-branded scratch card games. Scratch cards once again proved to be the most popular form of gambling, used by 9.9% of the Spanish population. Interestingly, this product attracts the youngest audience (50.5% of scratch card players were under 35 years old).
Data from the Spanish advertising association AEA shows that state providers ONCE and SELAE accounted for 65% of Spain's total gambling revenue in 2019. They also contributed to 34% of all gambling advertising costs. ONCE ranked 11th among companies spending the most on promotion in 2019, with 49 million euros spent (representing over a third of the 145.6 million euros spent by the entire gambling industry in 2019).
EU Law Violation?
The European gambling association EGBA (European Gaming and Betting Association) believes that the regulations might not comply with EU law. They fear that the law favors state operators ONCE and SELAE by leaving them untouched while imposing stringent rules on private providers.
EGBA Secretary General Maarten Haijer requested that the Spanish government reconsider their harsh stance in November. Spurred by a gambling boom in the second quarter of 2020, state lotteries reigned supreme in Spain. Furthermore, there are concerns over the lack of concrete data, statistics, and facts to justify the regulations' strictness.
Jdigital believes that these regulations could do more harm than good. Before the restrictions, Spain was already among Europe's most heavily regulated markets. If licensed providers cannot sufficiently advertise their legal products, an exodus to the black market could occur. We'll have to wait and see if the government pays heed to these concerns.
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Source: www.onlinecasinosdeutschland.com
