The gambling sector is experiencing a period of uncertainty due to recent developments. On one hand, the regulatory reform to prevent new cases of addiction in vulnerable groups. On the other hand, the increase in recent years of young people attending gambling venues, increasing youth gambling addiction. According to a study by the General Directorate for the Regulation of Gambling of the Government of Spain, more and more people of early ages are placing bets and engaging in games of chance, and more money is being spent in these types of establishments.
For some time now, gambling venues have grown in number in large cities, mainly in Madrid. This factor has drawn the attention of residents due to their proximity to schools and educational centers for minors. Consequently, the habit of gambling among the young population has progressively spread, or in other words, youth gambling addiction. They attend in their free time to place bets and continue to do so in the digital environment.
According to the study conducted in 2017, people between 18 and 25 years old spend more than €220 each year on activities related to online gambling. The approximate average expenditure dedicated to sports betting placed at betting houses has been excluded from the analysis. It is anticipated that this fact, together with the growth experienced in 2018, will be significantly higher than the current average consumption by young people.
Currently, it is estimated that in the digital entertainment sector there are an average of 300,000 active users under 25 years old. This circumstance has raised several alarms due to the increase in the rate of youth gambling addiction, and it is expected to be corrected with effective measures by the new government. One of them is the prohibition of advertising by betting houses on television channels. However, this is difficult to resolve considering its degree of importance in sports sponsorships.
According to the study by the General Directorate for the Regulation of Gambling, in 2018 the gambling sector generated €168 million in advertising, of which €13 million were dedicated to sponsorships. This fact contrasts with the data from 2013 and indicates that, in five years, investment in advertising has increased by 147%. The CAC (Audiovisual Council of Catalonia) warned a few months ago that 45.3% of online gambling advertisements are broadcast during children’s programming hours.
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