It establishes that intensive and risky players are prohibited from using this payment method when they accumulate net losses equal to or greater than €600 euros for three consecutive weeks. This initiative is part of what the ministry has called 'safe gaming environments', and although they were already approved a year ago by the Government, the standard gave gaming operators a period of 12 months to adapt the new provisions.
The objective is for players not to use credit cards to avoid generating debts that are impossible to pay and forces them to only use means of payment in their name so that they do not end up putting family or friends in debt.
The measure promoted by the Ministry of Consumer Affairs, and included in the Royal Decree of March 14, 2023, has been in force since Friday, March 15, 2024.
Who are the intensive and risky players?
In Spain, more than 70% of the population plays the lottery, bonoloto and primitive, and secondly, instant lotteries, such as the ONCE scratch cards, whose number of users has increased by 36% since 2018, according to data of the Ministry of Health of 2023. Within these, there are those called intensive or risk players.
Intensive players. These are users who accumulate net losses equal to or greater than €600 euros and in the case of young people under 25 it is limited to €200 euros, in a plan of three consecutive weeks.
Risk players. Risk players are considered to be those who maintain a debt equal to or greater than €600 euros net, for two or more years. No credit card for players and million-dollar fines for operators In addition to prohibiting players from using credit cards to avoid going into debt at levels that are impossible to pay, they have been prohibited from using payment methods that are not in their name.
The latter to avoid generating debts to family or friends when paying with their money. However, since gambling addiction is considered a disease, the Law falls heavily on the operators, mainly in taking prevention and warning measures in cases of players who lose control.
These are the highlights of the law:
• Gaming operators must control the player's time or money. That is to say, the session must be closed when one of the two runs out, whichever is the first.
• Online betting and gaming websites will be required to send at least every 60 minutes a mandatory reading message in order to continue playing, which will include the time played, the amounts of money that have been bet and the net losses. have produced.
• Companies may not send promotions to young people between 18 and 25 years old for purposes other than those of the gaming activity on the website or platform. For example: invitations to games or shows.
• They will also not be able to include this group in the loyalty program and misleading messages will be prohibited while the game is in progress, such as 'you were close' or 'you were almost right'.
• The operator will also have to send a message to the player when they win an amount of money greater than €5,000 euros. Companies will have to comply with all these measures, since if they do not, they may have to pay fines of up to €50 million euros.
