The Spanish gambling oversight body, DGOJ, has levied penalties on twenty online gaming companies in the latter half of 2022 for engaging in illicit gambling operations. These firms were fined over 35 million euros (31 million pounds/38.6 million dollars).
A statement from the Ministry of Consumer Affairs indicates that the twenty operators were punished for “grave or very serious transgressions” in online betting and gambling over a six-month period, contravening the Gambling Law (LRJ).
Seven of the penalized operators were determined to have committed “very serious” violations and were prohibited from providing online gambling services in Spain for a period of two years. Each operator was also assessed a fine of 5 million euros, resulting in a total of 35 million euros in the second half of the year.
DGOJ also identified “serious” breaches by thirteen other operators and imposed fines of 560,000 euros.
Nine of these breaches were associated with non-adherence to Spanish gambling advertising and marketing regulations, with each operator fined 10,000 euros for the transgression.
Four other operators were penalized between 125,000 euros and 160,000 euros for permitting self-excluded gamblers to participate in online gaming or for failing to meet technical requirements.
From July 2021, when the LRJ was revised to establish classifications for serious and extremely serious violations, 92 operators have been penalized. Of these, 73 were punished in 2022 and 19 in 2021. Over €181 million in penalties have been levied as a result of these violations.
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