Dirección General de Ordenación del Juego, which is known to be the gambling regulator of Spain, announced the appointment of José Antonio García as a Deputy Director General of Management and Institutional Relations.
Mr. García has been working for the Spanish regulator for almost two years. Back in April 2013, he was appointed as a technical advisor and it was his responsibility to accomplish all kinds of ICT tasks and thus assist DGOJ’s activity. He had previously taken this position at several Spanish administrative bodies and leading companies, which explains his experience in the telecommunications field.
Now, Mr. García will be expected to further help the Spanish regulatory body improve its communication with the gambling operators that have expressed interest in entering the country’s gaming market.
The appointment comes as Laura Minguito Gil, the former Deputy Director General of Management and Institutional Relations, resigned from her position at the regulatory body not long ago.
The DGOJ released a special statement on Ms Gil’s departure saying that it appreciated her dedication. During her term, she was involved in many international and internal projects, which significantly contributed to the development of the gambling industry in the country.
It seems that gaming is doing quite well in Spain. Earlier this year, the DGOJ announced that the country’s gambling industry grew significantly in 2014, posting annual revenue of €254 million and €65.6 million for the last three months of the previous year. What is more, it has been expanding and is expected to further expand in the months to come.
For instance, PokerStars launched its PokerStars.es Live Casino platform on February 3. The new service is streamed from the Gran Casino in Murcia.
Apart from this, the Spanish gambling regulator announced towards the end of 2014 that international operators that want to introduce their products to the local market will be offered new opportunities for licenses.
It seems, however, that lawmakers have considered the expansion of the gambling industry potentially dangerous to the country’s residents, as several weeks ago, they proposed restrictions related to the way Spanish operators promote their services and products. The primary goal of these measures is to protect the vulnerable part of the population, and teenagers in particular, from becoming addicted to any of the numerous gambling options that are offered on the territory of the country and are to be introduced in future.
