Spain opens €1.3m grant scheme for research on gambling disorders

Spanish authorities have vowed to deepen academic research to bolster the treatment, intervention and prevention of gambling disorders.

Yesterday, DGOJ – Spain’s General Directorate of Gambling – announced that 26 projects will receive research grants in the field of ‘gambling disorder prevention’.

The initiative is led by Spain’s Ministry of Consumer Affairs, which has reserved €1.3m funding for academic studies needed to bolster Spanish authorities’ understanding of gambling disorders in the public and local communities.

A tender process was launched in April, which saw 39 research projects submitted by academic institutions, reviewed by the Evaluation Commission of the DGOJ and supported by AEI – the State Research Agency of Spain.

Grants were approved for the University of Oviedo and University Castilla La Mancha who will lead projects focused on improving the early detection of risks and identifying common behaviours related to gambling disorders.

The University of the Church of Deusto will research the impact of gender on risk gaming behaviours, focusing on the evaluation of gambling disorders from a gender perspective.

The University of Santiago de Compostela will launch a project on data and record keeping requirements needed to improve detection methods for vulnerable players and the treatment of gambling disorder victims.

The Universidad Complutense of Madrid was the biggest recipient of grants, as it is charged with leading projects on youth protections. The university will research youth advertising impacts, the intersection of video gaming and gambling and a study on detection of early problematic behaviours. 

2023 proceedings saw the Spanish government approving the “Royal Decree on Responsible Gaming Environments”. The mandate will ensure that Spanish gambling adopts the strictest surveillance of gambling operators and market activities within Europe by 2024.

DGOJ is currently undertaking a stakeholder consultation on how to implement the protections of the  decree, which includes specific technicalities regarding deposit limits, record-keeping, player registries, and enforcing in-play restrictions on high-risk games.