Asturias caps gaming salons as Gijón betting shops fall to one

Asturias has kept a limit on the number of gaming establishments since a regional decree in 2021, and Gijón now has 14 gaming salons and one betting shop, reported by La Nueva España. The Principality's finance ministry told the newspaper that Gijón had three betting shops in 2019 and one in 2025, the most recent year for which official figures are available.

The city currently has one casino, two bingos, 14 gaming salons and one betting shop, according to the figures given to the newspaper. Across Asturias there are 30 gaming salons, five bingos, four betting shops and one casino, the report said, plus more than 3,500 hospitality venues with some type of gaming machine.

The Asturian government approved a moratorium in 2019 to limit the opening of new gaming and betting establishments. The measure was extended and, together with business closures during the pandemic, held expansion until the regional decree of 2021, which set a maximum number of authorised establishments using the businesses operating in 2019 as a reference.

At that time Asturias had 29 gaming salons, plus one in processing that already held municipal authorisation and was added to the limit, as well as nine betting shops, six bingos and one casino. In Gijón, 13 gaming salons were operating and one authorisation was pending; once granted, the maximum was fixed at 14 salons, the same number open now, meaning no new salon can be authorised while an existing one remains open.

Betting shops followed a different path: of the three registered in 2019, one closed in 2021 and another in 2023, leaving one in operation. The 2021 decree also set a minimum distance of 100 metres between gaming establishments and educational centres, a limit that also covers advertising by these businesses near schools.

The rules require access-control and customer-identification systems to verify the identity of people entering establishments. Certain forms of financial assistance are prohibited, including the installation of cash machines and the provision of credit services, as is their promotion.

The newspaper said the tightening followed several years of debate about the expansion of gaming and betting venues and their possible influence on younger consumers. It reported that specialists' concern is shifting from physical venues to internet and mobile play. Eduardo Carreño, a doctor specialising in addictions, told La Nueva España that behavioural addictions can be less visible than those linked to substances but cause significant economic and family consequences, and that the current problem is concentrated less in physical establishments than in the play offered by the internet and mobile phones.

Luis Martínez, coordinator of the health group of the Conseyu de la Mocedá, told the newspaper that the problem continues to grow despite the stricter legislation. He cited data showing online gambling grew 8% in the last year, with 2.2 million active players, half of them under 45 and 82% men.

The report also gave figures for amounts played in Spain: €17.949bn in 2021 and €32.483bn in 2025, which the newspaper said represent volume of play rather than companies' net revenue. It mentioned prevention and support work by organisations including Proyecto Hombre, which has a programme for young people, and the associations Larpa and Cayle.