SBC News Voice of the Sports Betting Industry
As the country gears itself up for the implementation of new operating regulations, Spanish gaming trade association Consejo Empresarial del Juego (CEJUEGO) has been incorporated into the Confederación Española de Organizaciones Empresariales (CEOE).
Spanish news sources have reported that the Socialist Workers’ Party’s (PSOE), which was successful in the most recent election, had agreed to Podemos party demands on restricting gambling services and betting advertising.
The new incorporation was agreed back in March 2018, which will see CEJUEGO draw upon the influence of CEOE as more regulations are set to come into force.
“This incorporation is very good for us because of the possibilities it offers us to give more visibility to our sector to the government, the media and society in general,” CEJUEGO chief executive Alejandro Landaluce said.
The agenda on reforming Spain’s gambling laws is not limited to PSOE and Podemos. This April, El Pais and Xataka published in-depth reports outlining 15-years of Spain’s liberalised gambling/betting marketplace.
Pointing to Treasury statistics, Xataka reports that since 2013 Spanish gamblers have doubled from 645,000 to 1.5 million in 2018, with Spanish consumers moving away from ‘soft games’ such as the ‘Quinelas’ betting pools and ‘Once’ lotteries to online casino and live betting.
Despite not gaining the 176 seats needed for a majority government, the PSOE’s 2019 budget sets out plans to implement more stringent controls on the gambling sector.
