Spanish online gambling trade body Jdigital has had its appeal for the ‘Royal Decree on Advertising’ to be heard by the Supreme Court rejected.
The appeal, which questioned whether the Ministry of Consumer Affairs’ Decree had received proper constitutional oversight to be passed into federal law, was rejected by the Constitutional Court of Spain.
Former Spanish Minister of Consumer Affairs Alberto Garzon drafted the Royal Decree in 2020, which then became a federal law in November 2021. Looking to reassess Spain’s advertising laws, the Decree introduced a comprehensive ban on betting sponsorship across the nation’s sports.
The ‘Royal Decree on Advertising’ also implemented a new timeframe for broadcasting gambling adverts on media platforms, restricting this advertising to the hours of 1am-5am.
Following its introduction, Jdigital launched an immediate challenge of the Decree suggesting that the Ministry of Consumer Affairs had bypassed the proper constitutional process to cement the Decree into federal law.
Moreover, the trade body questioned the remit of the Ministry of Consumer Affairs to change laws related to advertising regulations. Spain’s coalition government had granted the Ministry oversight of Spanish gambling in 2020, but with no agenda specifically related to advertising.
Jdigital cited that its appeal against the Royal Decree had received a ‘positive response’ in July 2020, mainly from a review of the Third Chamber of the Supreme Court. However, the Constitutional Court has ultimately rejected the appeal in a unanimous decision.
The Court ruled the Ministry to have made necessary amendments to Spain’s Gambling Law, prior to the aforementioned federal law changes on advertising.
The Ministry had revised Article-7 of the Gambling Law, which Spanish courts recognise as a federal law which autonomous communities must abide with.
As cited by the judgement: “Constitutional Court considered that the complaint, as it was raised at the time by the Supreme Court, has been extinguished because the new Article 7 bis of the Gambling Regulation Law does establish guidelines or criteria that the regulations must take into account when regulating the matter.”
“This is independent of whether what is prescribed in the new legal provision provides sufficient legal coverage to the challenged Royal Decree 958/2020, a matter in which, being a matter of ordinary legality, the Constitutional Court cannot enter to elucidate in this process.”
