Spanish Supreme Court blocks advertising ban suspension in blow for operators
Trade body Jdigital remains upbeat with case potentially to be decided by Constitutional Court in the future
Spain’s Supreme Court has ruled that a suspension on the Royal Decree on Advertising cannot be put into effect despite ongoing questions over the restrictiveness of the legislation.
The Royal Decree on Commercial Communications of Gambling Activities was enforced in November 2021 and ushered in a near blanket ban on gambling advertising and marketing across traditional and online platforms.
Sport sponsorship was outlawed, while an early morning hours advertising window between 1am to 5am across television, radio and online was also put in place.
Spanish trade bodies Jdigital and the Association of Information Media (AMI) subsequently launched appeals to the Supreme Court to suspend the ban, arguing that the legislation was “incoherent with the reality of the online gambling sector in Spain”.
However, those hopes have been knocked back following the latest decision, as the Supreme Court decided that the Ministry of Consumer Affairs had secured substantial autonomous rights to apply the regulation to Spain’s 17 autonomous regions.
Despite the knock back, the Supreme Court’s decision is not final, with the subject set to be decided by Spain’s Constitutional Court at a later date.
EGR understands that a final decision from the Constitutional Court could take up to three years.
Speaking to EGR, a Jdigital spokesperson remained upbeat on the prospect of the Royal Decree being lifted.
The spokesperson said: “From the very beginning, Jdigital was aware of the difficulty for the measure to succeed, since the doctrine of the Supreme Court is not in favour of suspending, except for very specific exceptions, provisions of a general nature.
“However, in view of raising a question of unconstitutionality that could lead to the complete annulment of the regulation, it was advisable for Jdigital to seek the suspension of the Royal Decree.
“The decision of the Supreme Court is not directly related to the final decision that the Constitutional Court may eventually take on the issue. Jdigital is still waiting for the final decision of the Constitutional Court,” the spokesperson added.