Institutional relations

 

The Directorate General for Gambling Regulation (DGOJ) is in contact with several state and privately-run bodies and groups, foundations and associations.  Below is a list of its main collaborators and their nature.

 

Institutional relations with other ministries and public bodies

Additionally, the DGOJ collaborates with other ministries and administrative bodies such as the Ministry of Industry, Energy and Tourism through the State Secretariat for Telecommunication and the Information Society, with which it signed the Co-regulatory Agreement  (PDF, approx. 738 kB) and the Gambling Advertising Code of Conduct  (PDF, approx. 401 kB). 

It also collaborates with the Ministry of Health, Social Services and Equality to help treat persons with a gambling problem.

Likewise, the DGOJ works with law enforcement officials to investigate gambling regulation compliance monitoring and inspection, and with the Executive Service of the Committee for the Prevention of Money Laundering and Monetary Offences to prevent money laundering.

 

Institutional relations with the EU and other European regulators

The DGOJ is in contact with the European Union bodies coordinating gambling matters. Although the European Commission considers gambling regulation and related aspects to be within the remit of each member state, it does ensure that national legislation does not act against free competition nor hinder the creation of Community companies.

The DGOJ is in permanent contact with other European countries' regulatory bodies whose gambling regulations are similar to Spain's, to foster collaboration and the exchange of information, thus helping coordinate each country's regulations and national inspection systems with a view to the future creation of a cross-border frame of reference on gambling legislation.

The DGOJ has carried out significant activities at the heart of the European Union:

  • European Commission: Online Gambling Expert Group
  • CEN/CENELEC in relation to possible European standards on the reporting system of gambling operators
  • Council of Europe: participation in initiatives carried out under the Enlarged Partial Agreement on Sport (EPAS), the fundamental aim of which is to preserve the integrity of sport and avoid the fixing of sporting events for the purposes of betting.

In this context, the Council of Europe Convention on the Manipulation of Sports Competitions was signed by the Spanish State on 7 July 2015 but is still pending ratification.

The DGOJ is part of the Working Group created at the request of the Secretariat of the Convention to promote the implementation of national platforms against the manipulation of sports competitions in the different States. Amongst other issues, these platforms are intended to receive, centralise and analyse information on irregular and suspicious bets made in connection with sports competitions taking place in the territory of the Party and, where appropriate, issue the corresponding alerts and cooperate with all relevant organisations and authorities at national and international levels, including the national platforms of other States.

Consult conventions and agreements

 

Institutional relations with Latin American regulators Vuelve al inicio de la página

The DGOJ, within the plan of institutional collaboration with other jurisdictions, has as a priority line of action the establish mechanisms of cooperation with regulators Iberoamerican game. for this has been participating in the various editions of the Ibero-American Summit of the game, as has promoted a seminar with the aim of boosting that the respective national regulations of online game cone develop under similar parameters, both helping galvanisation of risks posed by the absence of such regulation as the economic development of all sectors involved.

 

With society

The main task of the DGOJ and its true mission is to protect Spanish consumers in general from problem gambling, particularly minors, and dependent and vulnerable groups.

To fulfil this mission to the best of its ability, the DGOJ has built ties and collaboration channels for research.

It has also established measures to protect affected groups and prevent problem gambling together with various civil society partners such as rehabilitated gambler associations; universities researching problem gambling from both a social and a medical point of view; centres that provide assistance and treatment for problem gambling; and researchers.

The aim is to achieve a high level of protection for vulnerable groups through these ties and to set down measures and systems to respond to the needs of problem gamblers.

The DGOJ also works with gambling operators to establish and implement these measures.