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Spanish Football Teams to Cut Ties with Bookmakers by September 2021
By Jeff Osienya Nov 01, 2020 LegalityThe Consumer Affairs Minister in Spain has given football clubs a one-season grace period to end their gambling partnerships. This gambling sponsorship ban could cost the clubs a combined annual revenue of €90 million.Football clubs and licensed sports betting companies in Spain have been granted a light amnesty after the Consumer Affairs ministry in the country confirmed that current bookmaker sponsorship deals can stay intact until the end of the 2020-2021 season. Sources close to the matter indicate that the directive was signed off in a letter by Spain’s Consumer Affairs Minister, Alberto Garzo, addressed to 25 top-flight soccer clubs in the country last Wednesday.
Additionally, Mr, Garzon’s letter reminds the La Liga, and Segunda Division, that the gambling sponsorship contracts that they currently have will be against the law when the cabinet approves the new royal decree and writes it into law. The new regulations already got a thumbs up from the European Commission, which is the oversight body for any national regulatory frameworks across EU nations.
This decree which also fires shots at all sports in the country, however, has a transition window that will be closed when the current football season concludes next year in May. As he signed off on this transition period, the Minister maintained his stance that clubs will not be authorized to strike sponsorship deals with sports betting companies in that grace period. The gambling-affiliated clubs were advised to adopt new sponsors by 30th August next year, and Grazon promised to end the sponsorships by September 2021
Role Model Status for Athletes is Increasing Gambling Rates
The Consumer Affairs minister further indicated that gambling among the younger generation has been on the rise given that athletes now are increasingly being viewed as role models. As a result, over the last four years alone, the proportion of gamblers aged between 18 and 25 years in Spain has gone up from 29% to an alarming 40%. Furthermore, the annual expenditure on gambling by young individuals went up by 13% over the same four-year period.
At present, seven out of the 20 teams in the La Liga football league are sponsored by gambling companies, and the number grows bigger if you go down the ladder from the Segunda Division onwards.
Garzon’s letter also expressed his dismay in the fact that the Spanish teams that are sponsored by sportsbooks had greatly contributed to the normalizing of gambling. He added that this practice of gambling has a high potential for serious health and social risks that have to be minimized in the advertising industry.
Is it Necessary to Tighten the Noose on Gambling Sponsorships This Much?
For some time now, Mr. Garzon has been in charge of heading the sweeping reform of federal gambling laws in the country, despite vehement opposition from the gambling sector. The change in bookmarker sponsorships was first adopted as a measure to preserve the socio-economic wellbeing of the country in the face of the novel Coronavirus, but it appears that the drastic measures under the royal decree are here to stay.
Javier Tebas the president of La Liga recently fired back at Garzon’s ministry warning that the action taken by the government against them would result in a loss of a whopping €90 million in combined annual sponsorship revenues for the clubs. The European Gaming and Betting Association (EGBA), the region’s trade body for the gambling industry also criticized the government over the upcoming changes for gambling sponsorships. EGBA warned that these measures are discriminatory and against the EU state aid rules particularly since Spain’s state-run lottery is exempted from them.
It’s worth noting that a recent survey conducted by the University Carlos III of Madrid recently released a report that showed that only 0.3% of gamblers in Spain are facing problem gambling issues. Mind you, this is the lowest rate of problem gamblers all across Europe in regions where the practice is regulated.
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