Jdigital – Spain’s online gambling trade association – has praised the decision of the Third Chamber of the Supreme Court to question the constitutionality of federal laws restricting the advertising of gambling across Spain’s autonomous communities.  

Alongside Spanish media counterpart AMI, Jdigital submitted an appeal to the country’s Supreme Court demanding that blanket ban advertising restrictions be put forward for a Constitutional Review.

The trade bodies argued that said restrictions had been federally applied by Spain’s Ministry of Consumer Affairs, which had no constitutional authority to enforce rules across the country’s autonomous communities.

In force since November 2021 –  the gambling advertising ban was ordered as the headline measure of the Spanish government’s Royal Decree, drafted by the Ministry of Consumer Affairs.

Jdigital has alerted that a Third Chamber review has ‘raised concerns on the constitutionality of the Ministry of Consumer Affairs order, that may infringe with Spain’s existing gambling laws’.

As a result of the judgement, Jdigital has called on the Ministry of Consumer Affairs to ‘open dialogue with the online gambling sector’ to find a proportionate solution to allow gambling advertising in a safe and secure manner.

Challenging the Decree, Jdigital has maintained that a blanket ban was illegitimately enforced by the Ministry of Consumer Affairs that had provided no consultation for licensed operators or regional governments.

“More than a year after Jdigital filed the administrative appeal against the regulation, the Association is convinced that it has taken the right steps to preserve and protect the interests of the sector and its users.” – a Jdigital statement read.

“The Supreme Court’s decision reinforces Jdigital’s claims that the rules governing online gambling advertising in Spain infringe on the freedom of enterprise and unjustifiably harm the main players, the licensed operators, in this legal and regulated activity.”