Spain: Madrid to open 22 new gaming venues

In mid-November, the president of the Community of Madrid announced a temporary suspension on the award of new licenses to operate gambling venues in the Spanish territory. The suspension will be approved soon, it will expire within a year and the executive government will use this measure as an opportunity to study the proliferation of these venues in the Community.

According to Díaz Ayuso, the measure is aimed at protecting under-aged, young people and vulnerable members of the communities from the side effects of gambling. It will regard this activity as legal and regulated, something that generates jobs for over 85,000 people in the country and about 15,000 in the Community of Madrid, in accordance with data released by the Anuario del Juego en España 2019.

However, the temporary prohibition will not affect the license applications which have been already processed, so before 2020 begins, 22 gaming venues will have opened in the Community of Madrid. 

It is worth noting that the data released by Díaz Ayuso shows that gaming venues in the region have increased by 125% since 2014, with 678 facilities registered, including bingo halls, casinos and betting shops.