Legislation News of the Week: Another Spain’s Region Changes Gambling Laws, Postponed Online Market Discussion in Uruguay

Spain's Balearic Islands are reviewing the legal framework for gambling. Uruguay will actively discuss launching an online industry in 2023. Meanwhile, Nuevo Leon authorities are rethinking the tax system for operators. Australia has faced controversy regarding online gambling regulation. And in the US, there was a fascinating survey about legal money wagering among students.

The Balearic Islands reform their gambling laws in Spain

Given the rapid growth of the Spanish gambling market, many of the country's regions have begun to adapt their legislation to the new realities. The Balearic Islands is also an autonomous community with a developed money-wagering industry. So, its government is gradually implementing reforms in this industry.

One of the upcoming changes the authorities plan to implement in the near future is aimed at reducing the number of licensed establishments in the region. This approach is due to the fact that the Government Council wants to better regulate the growing gambling market and create the safest conditions for all players.

Every million residents of the Balearic Islands have access to 108 venues offering gambling services. Compared to Spain as a whole, this metric is 40% higher than the average. Therefore, the government considers the Gambling and Betting Law of the Balearic Islands to be seriously revised.

Uruguayan authorities postpone discussion of online gambling

Although Uruguay has made huge strides towards regulated online gambling recently, the local government has yet to get out of the controversy on this issue.

The authorities planned to introduce a number of significant legislative changes to the industry. The reforms were approved by the Senate and sent to the Finance Commission of the House of Representatives. All nuances regarding the legislation had to be settled by November 30. But in reality, this result was not achieved.

As lawmakers are about to take a three-month hiatus, regulation of the online gambling market in Uruguay has been delayed until at least the second quarter of 2023.

Mexico's Nuevo León rewrites tax laws again

The government of Nuevo León, which is a southeastern Mexican state, is forced to abandon its reformed tax system. The authorities’ idea was to overhaul the existing model and accumulate more profits from operators. But since they did not consider one significant nuance, these new laws will have to be rewritten.

The thing is that the tax rate depended on the number of slot machines this year. Therefore, operators simply started using fewer machines in order to lose less money in taxes. Some reputation sources report that the mentioned change cut the slot machines market by 40% in the region. In other words, instead of increasing the profits from the industry, the authorities reduced it by 35%.

To avoid similar situations in the future, the government will thoroughly review the tax system in 2023.

In Australia, sports officials do not want to improve online gambling regulation

When it comes to online gambling regulation, some prestigious Australian clubs feel that this niche needs better control. But at the same time, most sports officials are not in favor of closer monitoring of this sector.

Supporters of the current rules argue that these mechanisms create a balance between the operators’ advertising opportunities and the protection of vulnerable individuals from gambling addiction. On the other hand, Peta Murphy, who is a member of the Labor Party, thinks otherwise. She stated that numerous reports and studies indicate that the harmful potential of gambling games has increased in recent times.

Australia is one of the most gambling countries in the world. Given this, local authorities will seriously analyze the current controversial situation.

A new poll of American students on gambling reveals alarming results

Intelligent.com has done research on the gambling habits of US college students and found some pretty shocking results. It included 986 respondents who were at least 18 years old in the sample. They had been answering thematic questions for three days, from December 7 to 9.

One of the major findings was that educational institutions promoted sports betting 26% of the time. Moreover, 35% of those surveyed indicated that they received a promo code for sports betting through their school. And even worse, 85% of students from this group also said that they started to wager their money precisely because of the advertising from the school.

Another important aspect was that 60% of respondents have gambled illegally. Those who were under 18 used other students' accounts to place bets. These and other facts found in the survey show that gambling affects the financial situation of many American students.

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