Spain is improving its efforts regarding responsible gambling and social policies. A new body will advise the country’s regulator in matters that relate directly to safe gambling practices.
The New Gambling Advisory Board in Spain
The Spanish gaming regulator Dirección General de Ordenación del Juego (DGOJ) will now receive help from a new advisory board, backed by established names in the iGaming industry. The Advisory Council on Responsible Gaming (CAJR) will serve the purposes of seeking a common ground with business, regulators, and customers, so that everyone can benefit.
Notable names who will be part of the organization include Sportium CEO Alberto Eljarrat and Francisco Feijoo from Luckia. In total, 25 executives from the gambling industry will be joining the new advisory entity in order to guarantee the uppermost safety and security of customers.
In order to achieve the desired results, DGOJ will appoint its own president, Juan Espinosa García, at the helm of CAJR, allowing a respected member of the community oversee the activity, and more importantly – remain objective and independent from the iGaming and betting businesses in the country.
Even then, the majority of signees are known to have impeccable reputation in the country and live up to the highest standards of customer care. With the betting and gambling activity in Spain going up by estimated 30%, DGOJ now has new worries to address, including reckless gaming behavior and addiction.
To be able to successfully apply those, the regulator will need to collaborate with multiple private and public entities. The country’s health and finance ministries are already onboard with the changes, looking to fully assist DGOJ and the newly-established CAJR.
The Economic Windfall and Safety of Gamers
Establishing CAJR will serve to eliminate any lingering threat from offshore bookmakers who are less prone to put in place social responsibility checks and guarantee customer safety as a result. The expansion of the industry will of course pone new challenges which will require from all participants to use new tools and methods in tackling them.
However, the creation of CAJR comes just in time and it will offer solution to pressing problems, such as how to minimize gambling harm and avoid losing customers to the offshore industry. By retaining players home and directing them in the way of Spanish or licensed bookmakers and online casinos, the country will further benefit from the economical windfall that this entails.
Another important aspect of having CAJR work with DGOJ is that CAJR will be able to issue recommendations as to how bookmakers and casinos can be obliged to seek and enforce their KYC, due diligence and safety policies, other than stringent fines.
In the United Kingdom, for example, it’s common for even established companies to be fined millions’ worth of pounds. The country’s regulator, the United Kingdom Gambling Commission has even stated that it’s considering investigating individuals for failing to enact the required measures, with licenses being suspended in the process.
Spain’s new advisory body has not yet issued its first recommendations, but we will be following the case closely.
