‘In 2019, Spain’s gambling authority developed and planned several groundbreaking projects from a global perspective’ – Yogonet International

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elegates of the Direccin General de Ordenacin del Juego (DGOJ)the Spains gambling authority told Yogonet that 2019 was marked by political turmoil in the European country. General elections were held in April and, having reached no agreement for the creation of a new government, there were elections once again in November. This situation, together with the dissolution of the Cortes Generales the Spanish parliament have largely hindered regulatory progress throughout the public administration in Spain. However, DGOJ officials claim plenty of activities were developed this year, and that they consider 2019 as a highly productive year in many aspects.

As regards responsible gambling, the DGOJ renovated and redefined the Responsible Gaming Council, made up of four sections: Science, Players Protection, Society and Gambling, and Assistance, which are aimed at covering the different topics of the projects developed by the Council. Moreover, two programs were launched: the Responsible Gambling Program of the DGOJ 2019-2022 and the Development Program for Responsible Gambling 2019-2020, which works on top-priority projects.

In an attempt to boost new technologies and online gambling, the DGOJ rolled out a Development Kit to help use the DNIe a Spanish electronic identity document in mobile devices. Moreover, the first edition of the Regtech egambling international workshop took place and was attended by over 200 visitors, including regulators, operators, companies, and associations, among others. Many technology solutions were showcased there, which help users solve some of the issues within the gambling and betting segments (such as those related to identity verification, onboarding processes, fraud prevention solutions, artificial intelligence, big data, and machine learning, all of them applied to responsible gambling).

The regulator also highlighted the development of institutional relationships carried out during the last twelve months, as DGOJ officials took part in different industry-related events, including the VI Iberoamerican Gaming Summit (Lima, Peru), Juegos Miami (Miami, USA), IAGA Gaming Summit 2019 (San Francisco, USA), World Gaming executive summit 2019 (Barcelona, Spain), and Big Data, Artificial Intelligence and Digital Economy (Oxford, Reino Unido), among others.

Moreover, the DGOJ carried out several campaigns aimed at raising awareness over sports integrity, children protection, and the risks carried by sports betting. The DGOJ also signed new agreements and extended existing deals, including a cooperation agreement with the Spanish tax agency to strengthen data exchanges among booth entities.

Finally, in spite of the difficult legislative scenario, progress was made in the regulatory field, which included the creation of a National Committee for sports integrity and match-fixing prevention, a resolution which prevents the operation of sports betting in events with minors involved, and most recently, guidelines for the drafting of agreements which are subject to the award of government licenses.

"To conclude, we could say that in 2019, the DGOJ has strengthened its position as a regulator through not only its ordinary course of business but also through a proactive attitude which has helped the entity develop and plan several groundbreaking projects from a global perspective."

Ever since the enactment of Law 13/2011, websites operated by entities which do not have the relevant authorizations must stop offering betting services within the Spanish territory. In order to identify possible breaches of that law, the DGOJ carries out efforts that are channeled into three different categories: prevention, detection of illegal websites and the ordering of inspection and punitive procedures.

The illegal gambling prevention vertical is based basically on collaborative agreements with advertising suppliers and gaming operators which are aimed at preventing advertising companies from offering their services to operators who do not hold the relevant permits. Moreover, the gaming offering is constantly monitored as well as the number of illegal websites operating in Spain. Since 2012, the DGOJ has managed to close 1390 sites that were operating illegally.

DGOJ officials claim the entity plays a fundamental role in the development of a feasible and sustainable market both from a growth perspective and a social acceptance standpoint. "We want the whole society to consider gambling as an activity that protects the health and the economy of its participants, especially those from vulnerable groups, as well as an ally in the detection of and fight against illegal or fraudulent activities," they concluded.

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'In 2019, Spain's gambling authority developed and planned several groundbreaking projects from a global perspective' - Yogonet International