Valladolid (EFE).- The employers of the gaming sector in Castilla y León have applauded the changes that the Board proposes to introduce in the Law Regulating Gambling and Betting, since they have the consensus of the companies and also of the associations of rehabilitated players, although they denounce the “double yardstick” between the public game sponsored by the State and the private one.
This was explained to EFE by the secretary of the Association of Businessmen of Game Halls of Castilla y León (Sajucal), Luis González, who stressed that the sector needed to have a stable framework after some “very difficult” years as a consequence of the covid pandemic, despite which there are still some 400 companies -127 gaming halls- that have a total of between 8,000 and 10,000 employees.
On the bill to reform the regional regulations approved yesterday by the Junta de Castilla y León and that will now be processed by the Cortes, González has assessed that “a large part of the measures” that are incorporated into the text have been agreed at the Intersectoral Table of the Game, so they have the support of the association they represent.
All the parties involved in the sector, among which he cites the employers’ associations, the unions and the association of rehabilitated players, have assumed “by mutual agreement” some changes that have their origin in state regulations and the need to have a framework stable regulatory framework, after a couple of years in which the opening of new establishments was suspended, precisely until this regulation comes into force.
double yardstick
But the sector’s complaint is mainly directed at the “double yardstick” when it comes to regulating the private activity of casinos, bingo halls, gambling halls, betting houses and slot machines, with strict access control to the premises, while public gambling under the control of the State Lottery and Betting Society and the ONCE organization lack such controls.
This generates a “great damage” to the private sector, according to González, who has warned that while the activity for bingo halls and game rooms is further limited, the possibility is raised that ONCE could install game terminals “without control” in different spaces .
The pandemic years
The representative of the employers’ association of gambling halls in Castilla y León has highlighted the contribution of some 70 million euros to the regional coffers for the taxation contributed by this sector, despite the fact that in recent years, with the covid pandemic , there has been an “impressive downturn” as a result of the closures of activity dictated by the regional and central administrations.
González recalled that Castilla y León was “the only Community” that maintained full payment of their fees for these businesses, despite the fact that they could not open their establishments for months as a result of the preventive measures approved by the Board.
The pandemic did “a lot of damage” and that is still noticeable when it comes to opening new establishments, according to González, who does not believe that an accumulation of projects has been generated since in 2021 the Board suspended the granting of new licenses to operate in this sector, to wait for this reform to be completed and to have a new homogeneous regulatory framework.
Entrepreneurs are “cautious” and now the “excessive rise in supplies” also has an influence, both energy and those of another nature that are necessary for the opening of the premises, he added.
The Junta de Castilla y León has just approved the draft law to reform the Law Regulating Gambling and Gambling, which, among other novelties, increases from 100 to 150 meters the distance that must exist between a betting establishment and an educational center , while there will have to be at least 300 meters between gaming venues, whatever their nature (previously they had to be of the same type).
The fight against fraud and money laundering is another of the objectives of this new regulation, along with special protection for minors and other groups, such as people with disabilities or those who have gambling problems.EFE
