SBC News Socialists call for stricter gambling measures in Spain
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Socialists call for stricter gambling measures in Spain

Spain is planning to impose additional ID requirements on the gambling sector to limit the participation of minors. 

Prior to the announcement, the country’s Ministry of Health was in the process of producing a report which would’ve supposedly showcased a drop in the rates of problem gamblers and the involvement of under-18-year-olds. 

However, the Socialist Parliamentary Group (SPG), which comprises of MPs from the Socialist Workers’ Party – one of the halves of the left-wing coalition leading Spain under PM Pedro Sánchez – decided to pull ahead of the expected results and issue a proposal that would put additional data requirements on the sector, SBC Noticias reports

The motive – a 2022 national study on addictions among 14-to-18-year-old students showed that 21.5% of the surveyed gambled for money either in-person or online in the 12 months prior to the report.

Based on the findings of this and previous studies, SPG drew the conclusion that gambling participation among children increases progressively as they get older, which evidences the “essential” need for early prevention to avoid future personal and social harms. 

“[The proposal] urges the government to implement identification systems in gambling machines and slots to control the access of minors and self-excluded people, as well as to promote a design and structure of online games that are less addictive,” an official communique explained.

As it stands, on 27 January the amendments were reviewed and accepted by the specially designated “Joint Commission for the Study of Addiction Problems” – a parliamentary body within the Spanish government created to study and tackle addiction issues within the country. 

The next step for the motion to progress will be securing a majority vote as it gets debated in the Congress of Deputies, which is the lower house of Spain’s legislative branch – passing approved resolutions on to the Senate for a final sign-off. 

There is still no exact date as to when the debate on the proposed legislation will enter the Congress of Deputies’ agenda.

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