Spanish government approves creation of national self-exclusion register

Spain’s newly commissioned Gambling Policy Council has approved a proposal to create a national self-exclusion register of the country’s consumers.

In a plenary session of the council chaired by Spain’s Minister of Consumer Affairs, Alberto Garzón, representatives from 14 of Spain’s autonomous regions, including Andalusia, Galicia and the capital region, together with the tax enclaves of Ceuta and Melilla, voted in favour of the register.

Representatives from Catalonia voted against the proposal, while the Basque Country and Valencia abstained from voting.

Under the proposed mandate, each individual region will now carry out technological developments and modifications to its regulatory structures to accommodate the presence of the central registry.

In addition to agreeing the creation of a national self-exclusion register, the council also approved measures relating to its organisational structure and operational mandate.

These included formalising the appointment of the country’s consumer affairs minister as a permanent chair, as well as confirming that council members will be made up of representatives from Spain’s 17 autonomous regions, as well as Ceuta and Melilla.

Spanish trade association Jdigital welcomed the agreement to create a national register but said its members, which account for 80% of the Spanish online gambling sector, have always favoured a registry of this ilk.

“We also make ourselves available to the government to offer our collaboration and knowledge about the operation of this industry in order to define and implement the mechanisms that can protect users in the most efficient way,” Jdigital said.