Spain begins meetings to reform the Gaming Act
Spain's Directorate General for the Regulation of Gambling (DGOJ) has begun a series of meetings with entities that participated in the preliminary public consultation for the reform of Law 13/2011 on gambling regulation. The process aims to analyze the more than 50 contributions received before drafting the new regulatory text.
The schedule of meetings began on Tuesday, July 21, with a meeting between the regulator and Jdigital, the Spanish digital gaming association. Discussions will continue in the coming days with representatives of land-based gambling and other sector organizations, including LaLiga, in a dialogue process that will extend through September. The public consultation, opened in May by the body, gathered proposals from citizens, organizations, and industry stakeholders on the main challenges that the future reform should address.
According to the Directorate General, one of the central pillars of the project will be to strengthen identity verification mechanisms and payment methods, in order to prevent identity theft and access by minors to gaming platforms. The initiative also contemplates reinforcing measures against illegal gambling, reviewing the regulation of celebrity and influencer participation in sector advertising, and developing new tools to expand player protection.
The regulatory authority indicated that this round of meetings seeks to understand firsthand the different proposals submitted during the public consultation and to maintain an open dialogue with the involved stakeholders before drafting the preliminary bill. It also emphasized that the purpose is to build a balanced regulatory framework, adapted to the current reality of the sector and aimed at reinforcing player protection and the effectiveness of online gambling regulation.
Once the dialogue phase is concluded and the contributions received have been analyzed, the body will draft the preliminary bill, which will then be subjected to a new information and public hearing process so that both the involved sectors and the public can submit observations before its legislative processing continues.
Tags: Directorate General for the Regulation of Gambling, Spanish Gaming Act 13/2011, Jdigital, player protection