He government council of the Community of Madrid has approved this Wednesday the decree of suspension of concession of new opening authorizations of establishments of collective games of money and chancegame rooms and specific betting venues in the region.
This was announced at a press conference after the council meeting by the regional vice president, Ignacio Aguado. This standard has retroactive since last November 29 and will remain in force until the approval of the new Decree of activity planning on which the regional government is already working.
The suspension Decree responds to the will of the regional Executive to improve the regulations that affect the gaming sector, a legal and regulated activity that can generate “public health problems”. For its part, the Planning Decree will order the future growth of the activity, guaranteeing at all times the defense of the general interest, the protection of user rights and consumers, and especially the protection of minors and vulnerable groups.
How many gaming venues are there in Madrid?
Until December 31, 2019, in the Community there were 685 bet points, of which 368, that is, 53%, were in the city of Madrid. Regarding their typology, 160 were specific premises for bet (betting shops); and 488 gaming halls33 bingos and four casinosall con ‘corner’ to bet.
He game map in the Community of Madrid it is led by the capital, where in 2019 there were 368 locales. The Puente de Vallecas district, with 36 betting points, concentrates 10 percent of the total, followed by Carabanchel, with 35 betting points; Center, with 34, as well as Usera and Tetuán, with 28 betting points each. After the capital, the cities with the highest number of betting points in the Community are Fuenlabrada, with 27; Mostoles, with 26; Alcalá de Henares, with 22 and Leganés, with 20.
The Ministry of Justice, Interior and Victims has promoted a Inspection Plan which plans to examine all the gaming halls and betting venues in the region and verify the correct installation and location of the user control and admission systems in the terms included in Decree 42/2019 of May.
Regional government inspections
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The Plan has been carried out since February 18, the date on which the period for adapting all premises to the regulations ended, and will last until next June. It will be structured in three phases. The first, developed over February and March, will include the inspection of all existing betting establishments. The second will be in the month of mayo, and will include more selective visits to verify that the infractions detected in the first phase have been corrected. Finally, the third phase will take place in June and it will include a specific control in places with repeated infractions.
In addition, the regional government is working on modifying the Gambling Law of the Community of Madrid, with the objective of harden the sanctioning regime with regard to the presence of minors in betting establishments and the regional advertising regime so that, among other measures, this activity cannot be linked to famous people. Regardless of the treatment and intervention carried out with these patients, prevention among the most vulnerable groups is “another of the pillars” of this Government’s fight against gambling.
Source: www.elperiodico.com
