The Government of the Canary Islands, Spain, has submitted to the Consultative Council the Draft Decree establishing a new planning framework for games and betting in the archipelago and amending several regulatory provisions related to the sector. The text thus enters the final phase of its processing after receiving the approval of the Canary Islands Parliament.
The regulation seeks to unify the regulation of games and betting in the Canary Islands into a single planning instrument, in order to “reduce the existing regulatory fragmentation, strengthen legal certainty and adapt the legislation to the evolution of the sector,” according to the Government of the Canary Islands.
One of the main new developments is the update of the 2012 Regulation on Recreational and Gambling Machines, which aims to align with the new realities of the market.
The decree also introduces changes to the Register of Persons Banned from Gambling Access. “Once it enters into force, registrations due to self-exclusion or requests from third parties with a legitimate interest will be indefinite, a duration that until now was not expressly regulated. However, cancellation may be requested once six months have passed since registration,” they stated.
On the other hand, recreational and gambling venues will be required to have an admission service in place to prevent minors from entering betting areas.
The planned framework will initially be valid for five years, with the possibility of being extended for another five “depending on factors such as demographic trends, the socioeconomic situation or the geographic distribution of the activity,” the Canary Islands Executive explained. For this, the report of the Canary Islands Gambling and Betting Commission will be taken into account.