Spain's New Royal Decree To Rein in Social Media Influencers

In the online casino industry, marketing comes in many different forms, including social media influencers and streamers. But the regulations around what is allowed can be confusing at times. Spain is looking to set things straight.

The Spanish government has released the first draft of their new Spanish Royal Decree, which is set to regulate influencers in many markets.

More Details New Draft

The Ministry of Economy and Digital Transformation in Spain released the Draft Royal Decree on 7 December 2023. It outlines the requirements for those classified as ‘special relevance’. This refers to vloggers, content creators and influencers recognising them as audiovisual communication service providers who must follow regulations per Law 13/2022 on Audiovisual Communication.

The new draft aims to create balance, ensuring access to content while keeping users, especially minors, safe. At the same time, it creates competition among industry providers.

To meet these goals, the government believes it's important to add these social media creators to those who should comply with regulations. They are now considered audiovisual communication service providers.

Facts LGA Article 94

According to the regulations, anyone who is considered a ‘special user’ is a person who engages in video exchange services via a platform.

Other conditions that have to be met:

They get an income from their services
They have editorial responsibility for the audiovisual content
The services cater to and impact the general public
The communications networks they use are based in Spain

The draft also aims to provide more information on the requirements of sufficient income and the general public. Once the draft is approved, all specifications and obligations aimed at influencers will come into effect.

Alert Regulations as Per the Draft Royal Decree

The draft includes four articles focused on influencers, including significant income, audience, exceptions and obligations.

The draft states that significant income is the gross earnings generated through the financial year, which is €500,000 or more based on influencer participation. This includes all revenues from marketing, selling or organising video content. It also includes payments made to influencers and revenue obtained through fees and payments from the audience.

As for the significant audience, the draft states that this is aimed at content creators offering services that can impact the general public. This would include those who make casino-focused content too. To meet these requirements, the influencer must have 2 million or more followers and have posted 24+ videos in the past year.

There are some exceptions to the legal ‘user of special relevance’ concept, including schools, research institutions, cultural organisations like museums and theatres, government bodies, political parties and businesses that promote their goods and services. Nonprofit organisations are also excluded.

Anyone who meets these requirements and is not exempt must comply with the obligations as per the Draft.

They will need to:

Register with the Spanish National Registry of Audiovisual Communication Service Providers.
Make sure the content does not promote any criminal activities, violence, discrimination, child pornography or terrorism.
Protect minors from exposure to harmful content.
Adhere to quality standards for content.

The Draft Royal Decree is pending approval, so Article 94 is not yet in force. This is not the final version, but the final version is expected to be similar to the draft.