One of online casino regulators' go-to decisions in pursuing enhanced, safer gambling protocols is to ban the advertising of welcome bonuses, VIP programs and other promotions to prospective players.

The intent is sound enough to stop people who may not normally consider gambling online from joining simply due to the enticement of a big bonus offer. The problem is that it makes licensed operators less appealing to existing and potential players than unlicensed sites that do not have to play by the same rule.

Flashback to Spain in 2020

This was precisely the challenge licensed online casinos and betting sites faced in Spain in 2020. The government considered gambling advertising problematic and used the lowest hanging fruit—protecting the children—to amend the Gambling Act to ban said ads.

However, the Spanish Digital Gaming Association (Jdigital) voiced concerns over the way the ruling was to be implemented, saying:

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“The regulation proposed by the Ministry of Consumer Affairs may have the opposite effect to that intended since it implies such a disproportionate restriction of the advertising activity of legal operators that it is comparable, in practice, to a prohibition.”

Adding:

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“This will mean, as has happened in other countries where similar measures were adopted, the foreseeable increase in the activity of unlicensed operators, which will have dire consequences in terms of the protection of vulnerable groups.”

The Royal Decree 958/2020 was a mishmash of governmental overextension and seemingly half-baked logic. The newly outlawed online gambling promotions were not only banned from local television, radio and print media. Still, they were also banned from appearing online, with video-sharing sites like YouTube now being tasked with ensuring gambling ads were banned in Spain.

The amendment made it so that sports stars and Spanish celebrities could not appear to promote games of chance, but they extended this to include fictional characters, not only real-life actors and actresses.

Finally, the promotion of gambling for the purpose of getting someone to join an online casino was absolutely not allowed on Spanish soil. However, local lotteries and other state-owned gambling products were permitted to advertise uncontested and without restriction.

 Supreme Court Review 2024

Thanks to continued pressure from Jdigital and support from EGBA members, the Spanish Supreme Court finally agreed to review Royal Decree 958/2020. It rolled back several core articles in a positive yet surprising outcome.

Patricia Lalanda, a partner at LOYRA Abogados, explained:

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“When we received the judgment, the ruling of partial upholding of the appeal, annulling some of the most relevant articles of Royal Decree 958/2020 on commercial gaming communications, we were very surprised.”

Adding:

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“After the order of the Constitutional Court basically saying that with the reform of Law 13/2011 on the regulation of gambling, the object of the question of constitutionality had disappeared, everything indicated that the Supreme Court would go along the same line.”

Rights that were returned to the licensed gambling sector:

• online casinos licensed in Spain can now promote welcome bonuses and other incentives to potential players and players with accounts newer than 30 days old.
• Spanish and international media celebrities are free to take on endorsement, product ambassadors and short-term promotional offers from online casinos and betting providers.
• Gambling offers and games of chance, like Online Slots, can be offered on social media to potential players as long as they target adults over the age of 18.
• Gambling advertisements can now appear in the same venues where lottery tickets are sold, even though these venues are open to the public and have limited age access controls.

There were, however, a number of articles that the court deemed to “lack legal coverage” and, as such, were allowed to stay in force, including:

1. Limiting gambling ads on television, radio and YouTube to the hours of 1am to 5am.
2. Sites may only promote their offers to their existing followers on social media.
3. A ban on inferring that gambling adds to one social status or aligning it with wealth and appeal.
4. The use of large sums of money, luxury goods and other imagery that suggests that gambling can make you rich remains banned.
5. Gambling sites may not sponsor sporting events, broadcasts or stadiums, as minors may view these.

While Jdigital and other industry experts feel that these restrictions still need to be fine-tuned, considering that the Spanish government sees online gambling as a legal industry, they believe striking the former articles is a positive first step in rectifying what was always a poor decision.