The Ministry of Social Rights, Consumer Affairs and the 2030 Agenda has published a new series of sanctions for serious and very serious infringements against 32 operators in the online betting and gambling sector in Spain. These are fines that, in total, exceed 33.5 million euros.
Of these 32 infractions – dictated by the Directorate-General for the Regulation of Gambling (DGOJ) – six have been very serious, and are directed at foreign online gambling operators that **operate without a license in Spain**. These sanctions, categorized as very serious, entail a fine of five million per operator, as well as **the blocking of their websites**.
26 serious sanctions
The other 26, which are serious in nature, are imposed on operators who, although they do have the license in order, incur in some type of infraction specified in article 40 of Law 13/2011 on the regulation of gambling. Among the operators fined for serious infractions are, among others, 888 Online, which will have to pay 250,000 euros for failing to meet the technical requirements of the regulations relating to software and communication systems, and for using non-approved or unauthorized technical systems. Beatya Online has also been fined 300,000 euros for failing to meet the technical requirements of the regulations relating to software and communication systems. For its part, Betfair has been fined 100,000 euros for failing to comply with its obligations regarding responsible gambling and player protection as mandated by law.
Electraworks Ceuta will also pay 512,000 euros for three different infractions classified in article 40 of the law: allowing access to gambling to people who are prohibited from it, using non-approved or unauthorized technical systems, and for failing to meet the technical requirements of regulations related to software and communication systems. It is for this last reason that Codere is also fined, with a penalty of 17,500 euros. The fines vary depending on the infraction committed, totaling 3.5 million euros for 26 sanctions
Six operators blocked
The six operators who will be blocked as a consequence of very serious infractions are XYZ Entertainment, Moonrail Limited, EOD Code SRL, Samaki, Lone Rock Holdings, and Novaforge. In addition, a fine of five million euros is imposed on each of them (30 million euros in total).
So far this year, and taking into account this latest batch of fines, the Ministry headed by Pablo Bustinduy has imposed 58 serious and very serious sanctions, totaling almost 111 million euros. The latest amendment to the Gambling Regulation Law established that serious and very serious infractions that are final in administrative proceedings will be published on the DGOJ website. Since then, in July 2021, 212 sanctions have been made public, with fines totaling 496 million euros.
