{"id":213928,"date":"2022-05-17T06:31:30","date_gmt":"2022-05-17T13:31:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/?p=213928"},"modified":"2022-05-17T09:14:21","modified_gmt":"2022-05-17T16:14:21","slug":"spains-gaming-regulator-had-a-busy-2021-sanctioning-multiple-operators-for-violations","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/spains-gaming-regulator-had-a-busy-2021-sanctioning-multiple-operators-for-violations\/","title":{"rendered":"Spain’s Gaming Regulator Had a Busy 2021, Sanctioning Multiple Operators for Violations"},"content":{"rendered":"

Spain’s Directorate-General for the Regulation of Gambling (DGOJ, for its Spanish acronym) was busy last year. It shut down 13 web portals and imposed fines of more than \u20ac58 million (US$61.14 million) during 2021 for multiple violations.<\/p>\n

\"Spanish
Spanish flags fly in front of the Palace of Communication. Spain’s gaming regulator is working diligently to eradicate gaming operators that violate the law. (Image: Shutterstock)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The DGOJ sanctioned a total of 19 operators in the online betting and gambling sector in Spain last year. Of these 19 resolutions, 13 were for very serious infringements. This means that those operators received a disqualification to offer their services in Spain for a period of two years.<\/p>\n

The Gambling Regulation Law (LRJ) clearly lays out the penalties for violating gambling laws. For very serious infractions, 11 of the 13 “serious” offenders received fines of \u20ac5 million (US$5.27 million). The remaining two had to pay \u20ac1 million (US$1.05 million) each. In total, the fines in this chapter amount to \u20ac57m.<\/p>\n

Million-Dollar Mistakes<\/h2>\n

The gaming regulator didn’t specify what the infractions were. However, it added that six other operators in the online betting and gambling sectors also received fines of over \u20ac1 million.<\/p>\n

This is the first time that the Ministry of Consumer Affairs has made public the final sanctioning resolutions. The sanctions are the result of changes following the latest amendment to the Gambling Regulation Law. The law establishes that serious and very serious infringements will be published on the website of the DGOJ once the interested parties receive notification.<\/strong><\/p>\n

The authorities described this action as “an exercise in transparency that makes it possible to know which web domains are sanctioned for serious or very serious infractions.” Among the infractions is the offering of gambling activities without a corresponding license. In addition, properties cannot allow access to games by excluded individuals. Allowing them to gamble while knowing of such exclusions is considered a serious or very serious offense.<\/p>\n

Spain Gambling Regulations Tighten<\/h2>\n

At the national and the regional levels, Spain continues to tighten<\/a> its gambling regulations. Several autonomous regions recently announced changes to their legal frameworks, and Navarre is adding its name to the list.<\/p>\n

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Navarre<\/a> announced in March that it was working on gambling reforms. The Parliament of Navarre agreed to extend the deadline for the presentation of amendments to the proposal. Two political parties introduced the updates, and other parties had until 12 PM yesterday to present any amendments.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Those parties have publicly stated that they consider the proposed law insufficient. As a result, they shared with local media some of the 15 amendments they have formulated:<\/p>\n