The Spanish consumer watchdog agency FACUA (“Consumers in Action”) is urging incoming Minister of Consumer Affairs Alberto Garzon to follow the U.K. and ban all wagering funded by credit cards.
According to SBC News, the new left-wing coalition government, PSOE-Podemos, has transferred gaming regulatory powers from the Finance Ministry to Consumer Affairs.
FACUA has come out in support of new measures to define limits on the advertising and marketing of gambling, and restrictions on retail gambling enterprises. In a statement, it asked the coalition to add to these “positive steps” by implementing a federal ban on credit wagering, as recently decreed by the UK Gambling Commission, to further protect Spain’s “vulnerable consumers from falling into debt.”
“The association asks the government to follow the example of the United Kingdom, which has just approved this measure of protection for the most vulnerable people, that aims to minimize risks to consumers by preventing them from accumulating debts due to gambling, making it the only country in our region that restricts the use of credit cards in this industry,” it said.
