Gambling Advertising Could Come to an End in Spain
Author:
Jacob McKenzie
In Spain, an organization dedicated to supporting those with addictions is making moves to help problem gamblers. This organization is the Red de Atención a las Adicciones (UNAD) — or the Addiction Care Network — and it recently asked Spain’s Ministry of Consumer Affairs directly to prohibit all gaming advertising. This would of course constitute a significant shift for the gaming industry and for the society of Spain.
UNAD has asserted that some video game features may promote gambling to minors. Sam Pak/Unsplash
What are UNAD’s demands for Spain’s government?
Various organizations recently acknowledged the International Day of Responsible Gambling, which is marked on February 17th every year. One such organization in Spain is the Addiction Care Network (UNAD), which is not only dedicated to the subject of gambling but other addictions as well.
UNAD used the occasion to further a dialogue with Spain’s Ministry of Consumer Affairs, which is the main responsible coalition for determining advertising standards in the country. As UNAD put it to the Ministry, they believe that the “responsibility” of avoiding gambling should not fall on those who already suffer from addiction.
Rather, they request that the government take more responsibility to help those in need by making it easier to avoid gaming. They cited advertisements as a serious issue for those trying to avoid betting, whether online or offline.
According to UNAD, the issue with advertising is that it inherently works to create incentives for viewers to take part. Though there are some rules about gambling advertising — similar to how ads for alcohol or tobacco are treated — monitoring how these might cross the line into dangerous territory by promoting risky behavior is difficult to do.
UNAD seems to believe that the only way to deal with this is to eliminate such advertisements completely, by making them illegal. Similar discussions are happening in Chile at the moment, where some ads are illegal but some broadcasters have promoted them anyway. Chile’s gaming authority is now trying to take action against those TV channels.
Luciano Poyato, UNAD’s current president, spoke to the issue further by acknowledging Spain’s recent gaming regulation changes. He said that these are a step in the right direction, but that there are still serious issues to be addressed. Poyato believes that the country could go a long way towards solving the social and economic problems created from gambling addiction by removing advertising around gaming altogether.
Poyato also spoke a bit about data collected by UNAD about the typical profile of a problem gambler. It is indeed an issue that faces all genders, with men gravitating towards bingo in Spain, when in person, and women towards slots. The data changes slightly looking at online gaming: Sports betting is the game of choice for men and online bingo for women.
The point of this information for the UNAD president is to make clear that this issue can affect any person. Therefore, clear measures across the board are needed to help curb the problem, both for those already affected and for those at risk.
UNAD also asked the Ministry of Consumption to deal with a separate but related issue: Video game structures for young people. They assert that certain game features, such as “loot boxes,” encourage minors towards gambling behaviors later on in life. The overlap between these games and functions in various slots and other games are too similar, according to UNAD.
Finally, they also asked for more coordination between Spain’s government and the leaders of autonomous communities, as these populations are also at risk and may fall by the wayside in the discussion. These communities might actually have more power to regulate local gaming themselves, which UNAD urges them to do. The organization remains available for support across Spain and its autonomous communities.
