Spain Next in Line to Ban Gambling Advertising

21.05.2019, 17:10

Spanish ombudsman is urging to completely ban gambling advertising. Acting Ombudsman Francisco Fernández Marugán has requested the government to impose a total ban on online gambling advertising. As usual in such cases, with exceptions to state-run lotteries.

This doesn’t come as a surprise, as a Spanish broadcaster has banned gambling ads on its network recently. Such trend continues on from Italy and Sweden. Although the latter is only considering the idea.

That’s not the first time the ban is discussed in the country. Last year, Spain’s Finance Minister María Jesús Montero already announced similar plans. The intent was to make gambling advertising akin to tobacco advertising. Such ads would not be allowed on television, radio or the internet. Much like Italy, celebrity endorsements would also be banned.

However, the state-run national lottery SELAE has recently featured a former football star Julen Lopetegui. Such lotteries would be exempt from the ban, according to the ombudsman. Nevertheless, a 15-year-old has recently claimed a €200k jackpot from the same lottery. That fact obviously contradicts the 18+ only rule of the lottery.

Despite the obvious precedent, none of the officials that proposed the ban have commented on that particular issue. 

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