Legislation
Spain – Barcelona Council to prevent any new openings for gambling businesses
By Phil - 24 October 2019
Barcelona City Council has voted to prohibit the opening of any new bingo halls, bookmakers, casinos, and any other gambling locations, stating it has enough already.
It wants the ban to become permanent and also wants to bring in a minimum distance rule of 100 meters between a gambling property and a school or medical center.
Deputy Mayor of Urban Planning Janet Sanz said: “53 locations is too many. The goal is that there is not one more and there is less. We must study how many meters there should be in-between, but currently it is insufficient. We intend to close some of those in areas of risk and when one closes, it will not be possible to open another.”
Barcelona currently 53 has 35 arcades, 17 bingo halls and one casino. It is estimated that 0.4 per cent of the population between 15 and 64 years, around 20,000 people, suffer from problem gambling.
The City Council also wants to stop access to online betting websites in municipal offices, public access units and libraries.
