The Spanish Department of Consumer Issues has sent a notice to the nation’s leading soccer league clubs, advising them that all betting-related sponsorship arrangements must be ended by the conclusion of the 2020-21 campaign.
The department stated in the communication that all new collaborations between athletic teams and gambling firms will be forbidden when the Royal Decree is printed in the Official State Gazette, which is expected to occur in the coming days.
According to the notice, existing sponsorship contracts will be permitted to continue during a transitional phase, which may not extend beyond the end of the season, at which point they must be terminated.
The department suggested that clubs that have recently signed new sponsorship agreements that span a period beyond the transitional phase will be considered unlawful when the Royal Decree takes effect.
As a result, it requested that clubs modify their sponsorship contracts accordingly.
The letter cited market data that highlighted what it termed a “concerning situation.” It pointed out that four years ago, roughly 29% of young people aged 18-25 were engaged in gambling, a figure that has increased to 40%.
The server also asserted that the average expenditure on wagering by young individuals had risen by 13% annually.
The organization asserted that scientific evidence indicates that initiating wagering at a younger age is a harbinger of gambling-related harm, and there is a direct correlation between wagering advertising and the proportion of new bettors.
It stated that this scenario may have been aggravated by the coronavirus (Covid-19) pandemic and the financial distress experienced by many as a consequence. It highlighted that the most susceptible households may be inclined to perceive gambling as a means to mitigate financial hardship.
Spain has committed to introducing new restrictions on wagering advertising throughout 2020. Initially, new controls implemented in February restricted wagering advertising on radio and television to between 1am and 5am, but with certain exceptions for advertisements surrounding live sporting events and real-money competitions.
At that juncture, sports companies were still permitted to enter into sponsorship agreements with gambling companies.
However, these restrictions were subsequently revised in April, intended as a temporary response to the Covid-19 pandemic. These temporary plans, encompassing the prohibition of bonuses and sports sponsorships, were incorporated into regulations and then submitted to the European Commission for approval.
The outcomes published this month reveal that the Spanish online wagering market expanded by 17%.
The second trimester of 2020 exhibited a 7% surge in comparison to the same timeframe in the preceding year. This upward trend was fueled by robust expansion in online gambling establishments and poker, which compensated for a decline in sports wagering.
Nevertheless, the aggregate income for the three-month period concluding on June 30th amounted to €208.9 million (£189.2 million/$245.2 million), representing a 4.2% reduction in comparison to the initial quarter of the year.
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