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Spain Moves Forward with Integration of Self-Exclusion Schemes
By Jeff Osienya Sep 24, 2020 LegalityThe Spanish government has officially begun the process of consolidating all local self-exclusion registers in a bid to offer more protection to vulnerable players. The onboarding process for regional registers should be complete within 16 months.The regional governments of Spain’s 17 autonomous communities have moved to unify each region’s self-exclusion schemes to create an integrated platform that will effectively boost the coordination of player protection initiatives regionally and on a national scale. The agreement was reached following a meeting that was held by the National Gambling Policy Council, presided by Alberto Garzón, the current Minister of Consumer Affairs with representatives from all the 17 independent communities and the autonomous North African cities of Melilla and Ceuta in attendance.
Each of the self-directed communities and cities in Spain has its own established gambling regulations, and in the meeting, the creation of the centralized gambling self-exclusion registry was passed by a majority vote. However, Catalonia voted against the interconnection of the scheme whereas the Valencian and Basque Country province chose to abstain.
As we speak, apart from the Castilla la Mancha Community, each regional community keeps its own registry of self-exclusion requests across the country. But then, since 2015, the Dirección General de Ordenación del Juego (DGOJ), Spain’s gambling regulator has also been keeping an online database for self-exclusion by the name Registro General de Interdicciones de Acceso al Juego (RGIAJ).
JDigital Lauds the Unification of the Self Exclusion Registries
JDigital, Spain’s online gaming association which represents 80% of licensed gaming operators in the country welcomed the move for the integration of self-exclusion registries by the independent communities. In a statement, JDigital termed the decision as a critical advancement in the protection of players, adding that all its members have always supported any measures that are introduced to safeguard players.
The industry association also indicated that all its member operators are currently connected to the RGIAJ so that they can actively get an update whenever a self-excluded player tries to join an online gambling platform, effectively preventing the user from proceeding with registration. JDigital also reiterated its commitment to the government and gambling industry at large in pushing for a safer industry in its statement as follows:
Quote“We also make ourselves available to the Government to offer our collaboration and knowledge about the operation of this industry in order to define and implement the measures that can protect gamblers in the most efficient way.
From Jdigital, we would like to value the commitment of operators to responsible gambling. It shows that online gaming operators licensed in Spain have their own control mechanisms to prevent or limit access to their platforms to those who suffer from addiction or can develop problematic behaviours.
Finally, we reiterate that we are fully in favour of promoting fair, equitable, and proportionate regulation to the reality of gambling in Spain, where the incidence of gambling in Spain remains stable in 0.3 percent of the population between 15 and 65 years since 2015, as indicated by the National Drug Plan.”
Operation Standards and Requirements to Be Determined
Now that the proposal has been passed, the Gambling Policy Council is tasked with the duty of drawing the standards and operational requirements that will ensure the success of the newly integrated self-exclusion schemes across every autonomous region in the country.
Representatives from each of the independent regional communities are to work together to come up with both technical and regulatory frameworks that will facilitate the unification of the self-exclusion programs countrywide. The process is supposed to have been completed in four months, and should then go through an approval process by the Gaming Policy Council.
After approval by the Council, all the regional communities will be given a year to migrate to the new unified registry and make any essential technical and regulatory updates for the completion of the integration.
As Spain’s iGaming revenue continues to climb, the government is getting even more vigilant towards fortifying player protection measures in the country. The consolidation of self-exclusion registries can be tagged as the second phase of Alberto’s reforms for gambling laws in the country, after introducing tougher advertising restrictions earlier in the year in a bid to reduce gambling harm.
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