The Valencian Botànic Government approved, in May 2020, the Gambling and Gambling Prevention Law, which is especially harsh on leisure and gambling activities because, among other measures, it toughened sanctions. The regulations were highly criticized by the business sector, which yesterday presented its “Game and Society” study in Valencia as well as the “Game Yearbook 2023” with harsh criticism of the previous Consell.
The presentation was held at the headquarters of the CEV, the Valencian employers’ association, one of the entities that was against a rule that, three years later and with a change of political color in the Generalitat Valenciana, the sector is asking to modify. The Popular Party, now in the autonomous government led by Vox, assured before entering the Government that it would agree to make modifications. “2,500 jobs have been put in danger and more than 147 million euros that the regional coffers receive in gaming fees are at risk,” said the general director of CeJuego, the Business Council of the Gaming Sector, Alejandro Landaluce.
Landaluce’s criticism yesterday focused on the approach of the rule because, in his opinion, “it does not regulate gambling, but in practice prohibits it” and, secondly, because it does not prevent gambling addiction, but rather “encourages it.” ”. Landaluce spoke of an effect of Prohibition: “If the law intended to protect citizens, the effect has been exactly the opposite. The Generalitat Valenciana itself recognizes that, in 2022, penalties for illegal gambling have increased by 17%,” he said.
Aside from the criticism, the sector survey released yesterday shows that a total of 22.9 million people (83.9% of the Spanish population between 18 and 75 years old) admit to having played a game of chance in the last year according to the 2023 edition and points out that the vast majority of users consider the activity as “a normal part of their entertainment.” CeJuego has focused on this ‘accommodation’ of the game to the daily lives of citizens when collecting the current figures, which reveal a drop in activity. They argue that “gambling users suffer constant discrimination and signaling that pushes them to hide.”
They estimate the percentage of betting users in 2022 at 2.3%, below 2020, when it stood at 3.7% due to the pandemic. On the other hand, they point out that since 2013 the percentage of the population between 18 and 75 years old that declares playing on “B” machines in bars is between 4% and 5.9%, that is, 1.4 and 2.1 millions of people. “There is a downward trend, slow and with ups and downs,” they acknowledge.
The employers insist on presenting the activity as “normal” and assure that the vast majority of people have “a normal relationship with it. Normal because no matter how many ideological filters we want to impose on it, reality is stubborn: private gaming does not grow and people who have gambling problems grow.
CeJuego presents the European data and assures that Spain has problem gambling rates below 0.3%. “For 20 years, problem gambling rates in Spain have been among the lowest in the world. All national or regional studies indicate this,” highlights the director of the study, José Antonio Gómez Yáñez.
However, other voices warn of concern about the increase in gambling, especially among the young population. There is an increase in addictions among the younger public and the percentage of Valencian minors who regularly participate in games of chance stands at 36.6%, according to data from the laCaixa Observatory, a reality that has also been confirmed. entities such as Proyecto Hombre among their youngest patients, also suffering from other addictions. The latest study (2021) from the Valencian Youth Observatory ensures that the highest rates of youth addiction among regular players are found in online gaming, both in-person and telematic.
