• The Government approves thirty measures aimed at putting an end to compulsive gambling, especially among young people between the ages of 18 and 25

After ban advertising of the bookmakers After hours, in order to respond to the social alarm generated by the proliferation of entertainment venues where you can bet and the growing problem of compulsive gambling, the Government has given a new twist to the legislation by approving a royal decree aimed at reinforcing the protection of the people most vulnerable to game and, among them, young people between 18 and 25 years of age.

The new regulations contain some thirty measures aimed at ensuring that companies in the sector “are obliged to promote healthy consumption patterns and minimize the appearance of damage to the personal, family and property spheres of the people affected”, as reported by the Ministry of Consumption, which is the driver of the legislative package approved this Tuesday. The royal decree represents a paradigm shift in which there is a move “from an individualistic approach focused on the fact that the gambler is solely responsible” for his possible addiction, to another “of a protectionist nature that makes responsible of the risks of games of chance and bets on companies“.

Taking this approach into account, the new law obliges operators to send a “specific message alerting” to the player if he is carrying out “risk conduct” and to send him a monthly summary of his activity (with frequencies, amounts bet and balance of spending). Specifically, article 16 states that, at least once every 60 minutesthe player will receive a “required reading to continue playing” informative message with information related to his behavior, such as the time played, the amounts bet or how much money he has lost.

In addition, companies will not be able to accept credit cards from gamblers considered vulnerable and will have to have a Telephone service assistance and help for risk behaviors.

the intensive game

The new regulations prohibit messages that encourage intensive play such as “you almost got it” or “you were close& rdquor; at the end of a game. Likewise, it will not be possible to send promotional activities to young people between the ages of 18 and 25 whose objective is unrelated to the gaming activity, such as invitations to matches or tickets to shows. Nor will they be able to include them in VIP loyalty programs.

Likewise, companies will be obliged to inform the young users that starting to gamble at an early age is associated with a greater risk of developing addictions or compulsive gambling. Another novelty is that people who log in to play the so-called games of instantaneous or prize lottery They must establish in advance the maximum time and the amount to play, without the possibility of being modified during the course of it.

Related news

The standard considers within the category of intensive game to people who accumulate net losses equal to or greater than 600 euros (200 euros in the case of those under 25 years of age) in a period of three consecutive weeks. It also integrates into the group of special protection those who have requested a restriction on access to their gambling account, which are called self-excluded, and those who register in the General Register of Gambling Access Bans (self-banned). When the player enters the mentioned losses, the companies must send him a message advising him of this circumstance.

The standard includes sanctions which for the most serious infractions entail fines of up to one million euros and can lead to the suspension of the license to continue operating for six months. In the case of very serious sanctions, the fines go up to 50 million euros and can lead to the loss of the license. The entry into force of the standard will take place six months after its publication in the Official State Gazette (BOE).

Source: www.elperiodico.com



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