Spain Wants Tobacco-Style Warnings on Gambling Ads

At the end of June, we reported on the encouraging conclusions of a peer-reviewed Harm Reduction Journal research that showed that the number of new online gambling accounts in Spain dropped a staggering 55% to 1.35 million in 2023 from the 3.01 million in 2020, a change mainly tied to the country’s gambling ad restrictions and ban on promotional bonuses, partially annulled in 2024.

8 in 10 Spaniards Seeking Help with Addiction Are Gamblers

Now, the southwestern European country has announced an even stricter stance on gambling, as a result of fresh research that highlights the actual scale of gambling addiction in the country. 

Namely, as per 2022 data, 82% of the individuals who admitted themselves to treatment centers specializing in behavioral addiction were gamblers. The disturbing discovery prompted the Ministry of Consumer Affairs to request that clear warning labels be displayed on all online gambling platforms.

Social Rights Minister Pablo Bustinduy was the one who officially announced the policy, citing important findings from the Ministry for Health’s 2024 National Drug Plan. The latter revealed an undeniable link between gambling behavior and addiction, both in-person and online. The goal of the new measure, the minister explained, is to give users clear, factual information about the risks before harm occurs.

The new labels will replace the previous “play responsibly” messages and instead introduce users to more powerful and detailed statements such as “Gambling addiction is a risk of gambling,” “The probability of being a losing gambler is 75%,” and “Losses for all gamblers are four times greater than their winnings.” The new warnings will be placed on gaming platforms, digital banners, and social media promotions.

Not Everyone Is On Board

Bustinduy told attendees at a safer gambling event that the responsibility “should not fall on users but on the authorities, who have the democratic duty to ensure that the environments they access are safe.” He also took the opportunity to criticize some betting operators for targeting people in financial or personal difficulty, noting that this practice occurs both online and in physical venues.

The new measure has been added to Royal Decree 958/2020, which governs gambling advertising and communications in Spain, and it took effect immediately after being announced last week.

As expected, JDigital, Spain’s gambling trade association, questioned the new regulation, calling it “difficult to justify” and arguing the country’s regulated online gambling sector is one of the most closely monitored on the continent. The trade body further suggested that comparing gambling to tobacco could misrepresent the industry.

Spain could also bring back celebrity and influencerendorsement bans and limit welcome bonuses targeting youngsters, two measures introduced in November 2020 and partially relaxed in April 2024.