Draft in Spain Includes Decree on Gambling Ads for Social Media Influencers

A few years ago, in 2020, Spain introduced its Royal Decree, a law that effectively imposed heavy restrictions, particularly for gambling advertising. In light of the tough measures, gambling operators no longer had the option of advertising their products freely. Yet, the restrictions were appealed by Jdigital, the country’s online gambling trade association, which argued that some of the measures were against the constitution.

After the appeal, Spain’s Supreme Court partially annulled the ban on gambling ads, lifting a number of restrictions for operators in the country. Consequently, gambling operators were allowed to offer incentives for newly registered accounts, advertise their products on social media and even benefit from exposure by celebrities such as social media influencers for their ads. Despite the win for gambling operators, Pablo Bustinduy, the country’s new minister for social rights and consumer affairs, announced earlier this month that he plans to reintroduce certain restrictions on gambling ads.

It wasn’t long before such an effort emerged, with the Council of Ministers receiving a draft bill called the New General Law on Audiovisual Communication (LGCA). The proposal was delivered Friday and calls for the reintroduction of a number of measures, including restrictions for gambling ads and the establishment of a framework for social media influencers, including vloggers and other content creators online.

Notably, the newly filed draft proposal requires content creators to adhere to the country’s Royal Decree on Advertising which effectively prohibits any form of gambling ads between certain hours via different media platforms. Additionally, per the country’s Decree on Advertising, the promotion of gambling incentives is also prohibited. As noted, the proposal arrives after recently, Spain’s Supreme Court sided with Jdigital, after finding that previously imposed gambling restrictions were against the constitution.

Social Media Influencers Need to Register, Comply with Rules

Besides restrictions, the proposal outlines rights for social media influencers and seeks to protect their intellectual property and content. Still, the draft seeks to ensure that younger audiences are not viewing content that is meant for adults.

Other parts of the proposal include requirements for content creators to register with the State Registry of Audiovisual Providers. Such registration would designate them as audiovisual content service providers while also seeking to ensure their compliance with the regulations.

The proposal includes additional rules for social media influencers who earn more than €300,000 ($322,400) annually. Not unexpectedly, the draft also calls for tough fines for content creators that fail to meet the established regulations with proposed monetary penalties varying between €10,000 ($10,700) and a whopping €150,000 ($161,200).