The ruling of The Supreme Court of Spain has partly ruled in favor of the appeal of gambling operators.
Several aspects of Spain’s restrictions on gambling ads has been annulled by The Supreme Court. Jdigital, an online gambling trade body had appealed against the restrictions. It was imposed in 2020’s royal decree.
Jdigital’s appeal has been rejected by The Constitutional Court against Royal Decree 958/2020 last November. Nonetheless, the Supreme Court has now ruled partly in the association’s favor. The court has quashed different other articles in the decree while the ban on gambling sponsorship in sports and limited hours for television advertising still stand.
Article 13 banned the targeting advertising at players who have had an account for fewer than 30 days. This has been annulled by the court. Sections of articles 23, 25, and 26 banned advertising on social media and video sharing platforms. Social media advertising to existing customers had been limited by the decree. However, operators will now be able to advertise on social media to all users who are over 18.
Article 15 has also been annulled by the court. This prohibits the use of celebrities in advertising. Another overturn is a prohibition on advertising in venues that sell lottery games.
The regulations were intended to reduce minors’ exposure to gambling advertising. It was drawn up by Alberto Garzón, the then minister consumer affairs and was implemented in November 2020. Nevertheless, several measures were without legal basis and posed immoderate constraints on a legitimate business activity.
