The highest court in Spain has partially reversed a government order that limited online gambling promotions. This order, known as Royal Decree 958/2020, included a prohibition on using famous people to endorse gambling.
The high court partially agreed with a challenge filed by the Spanish Digital Gambling Association (Jdigital) against the Royal Decree 958/2020.
The Royal Decree 958/2020, which went into effect in late 2020, aimed to lessen the exposure of young people to gambling advertisements in Spain by prohibiting sponsorship by gambling companies, among other actions.
The regulation faced strong opposition from the industry, and the Spanish Digital Gambling Association (Jdigital) filed a legal challenge against the Royal Decree. The challenge was dismissed by Spain’s highest constitutional court in late 2023.
However, the Supreme Court, in its review of the law, has now overturned several parts of the government order, partially agreeing with the challenge.
As a result, several provisions have been reversed, including Article 13, which dealt with advertising aimed at new customers.
This means that Spanish gambling companies will be permitted to market to players who have been registered for less than a month. Gambling companies can now also advertise in places designated for the sale of lottery tickets and accessible to the public.
The highest court in Spain has decided to reverse the prohibition against famous people appearing in commercials and limitations on betting advertisements on video-sharing websites. Before, the law forbade the use of “individuals with public significance and fame,” real or imagined, in commercial communication.
Moreover, the Supreme Court has also invalidated provisions in Royal Decree 958/2020 concerning advertising time restrictions, promotional limitations, online age confirmation, and the ban on promotional bonuses. This decree stated that advertising on television and radio (including YouTube) was restricted to between 1 am and 5 am, and operators were limited to promoting their brands only to existing social media followers.
The Supreme Court considered these measures “without legal foundation.” Consequently, operators will be permitted to advertise on social media to all users over the age of 18.
In October of 2022, a new law was enacted that further limited advertising by restricting certain aspects of its distribution.
This encompasses references to social standing, physical well-being, financial prosperity, or mental health.
Descriptions of money or high-priced items in marketing materials are also prohibited. It’s also against the law to imply that family and friends should take a secondary role to gaming.
The highest court in the land, in announcing its decision on some of these measures, stated: “The ruling acknowledges that advertising is a component of commercial liberty and is subject to constraints.
“However, these restrictions and prohibitions, as long as they also impact the conduct of legitimate commercial endeavors, must have a sufficient legal foundation and cannot be regulated by independent regulatory standards unconnected to the standards and limitations established by the legislature.”
What remains prohibited in Spain?
Article 12 on sports sponsorship was not included in the revocation. This means that operators are still forbidden from promoting or using brands for events, products and services that can be seen by young people. Operators are also still forbidden from sponsoring sporting events or broadcasts. Sponsorship activities related to sports venues are also still forbidden.
The ruling of the highest court in the land came as a surprise to some.
The ruling of the highest court in the land will provide a significant boost for Spanish operators and their clients to get work.
LOYRA Abogados, a Spanish legal firm specializing in gaming, was involved in this historic ruling, assisting a claimant.
Patricia Lalanda, a legal associate at the firm, expressed astonishment at the news.
“We were quite taken aback when we received the judgment, the decision portion upholding the appeal, revoking the most pertinent sections of Royal Decree 958/2020 on commercial gambling communications,” Lalanda informed iGB.
“Following the Constitutional Court’s order essentially stating that the constitutional matter had vanished with the amendment of the Gambling Regulation Law 13/2011, everything suggested that the Supreme Court would pursue the same course. But it wasn’t; the ruling is unambiguous.”
While many sections were revoked, the choice not to overturn restrictions such as sports sponsorship and time limits signifies that Spanish operators are still not completely liberated to advertise.
However, Lalanda believes that the measures overturned by the Supreme Court should be adequate enough that further efforts to compel the revocation of more sections will not be backed.
“I believe it would be imprudent for the gambling industry or other impacted parties to initiate new avenues to combat the restrictions that remain in effect.”
Sign up for the iGaming newsletter.