Online gaming operators in Spain have reportedly agreed to abide by a new set of voluntary advertising regulations that are due to prohibit them from promoting their wares during the broadcast of all live sporting events such as televised football matches.

According to separate reports from iGamingBusiness.com and CalvinAyre.com, the fresh rules were first floated by the local JDigital operator association before being quickly adopted by the nation’s Direccion General de Ordenacion del Juego (DGOJ) regulator. Set to come into force from January 15, the new instructions were purportedly embraced in an attempt to head off efforts from the newly-elected coalition government of Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez to propose even more strict advertising restrictions.

Cap control:

iGamingBusiness.com reported that the majority of the new regulations have been designed to bring Spain into line with most other regulated iGaming jurisdictions and include a provision that will implement a €200 ($221.47) ceiling on all welcome bonus offers. The revised code also purportedly mandates that advertisements for such promotions should be true and not designed to mislead prospective punters and must not omit facts or data that could lead to confusion.

Juvenile safeguards:

Alongside these, the fresh guidelines will implement a ban on the use of sound, visual or written elements aimed at minors alongside depictions of famous active athletes gambling. The coming rules additionally purportedly call for online casino and sportsbetting operators to refrain from utilizing celebrity endorsements if these figures have a significant youth following as well as depictions of gamblers who appear to be under the age of 25.

Clear communications:

CalvinAyre.com reported that members of JDigital include such industry giants as The Stars Group Incorporated, Bet 365 and GVC Holdings while the new rules furthermore mandate that all coming advertisements must include age-restriction and responsible gambling messages and not promote uncontrolled or repetitive wagers and risks.

Approved actors:

As if this wasn’t enough, Spain’s coming online gambling advertising rules are to ban iGaming operators from making credit offers and moreover compel them to inform the DGOJ if they are promoting their wares via a third-party.