CEJ warns Andalucía social bingo plan risks unfair competition and closures

The Confederación Española de Organizaciones de Empresarios del Juego del Bingo (CEJ), chaired by Fernando Henar, has said it is concerned about the possible regulation of so-called social bingo in Andalucía, as set out in the draft budget bill for the region for 2027. In a press release issued on Monday 19 October, the organisation said the proposal could open a route to unregulated gambling, create unfair competition for licensed bingo halls and affect the profitability, employment and investment of a sector subject to tax, administrative and control requirements.

The stated aim of the proposal is to allow non-profit recreational activities in senior centres and associations. The CEJ said the draft sets a maximum price of €1 per carton and a limit of €100 per session, but that these restrictions could prove insufficient without exhaustive and constant oversight by the administration. The organisation said that without rigorous supervision the limits could be systematically exceeded, undermining the exceptional and recreational character used to justify the format.

The CEJ based part of its argument on the difference in operating costs between social bingo and licensed halls. Licensed establishments face fees, specific taxes, staffing costs, security measures and control obligations, while social activities could operate under a different cost structure, the organisation said. It said allowing cartons of up to €1 would not merely introduce a cheaper alternative but establish very different competitive conditions, and that this would generate "una competencia desleal de primer orden" by letting a similar activity operate without the same obligations as licensed establishments.

The CEJ also questioned whether the low carton price is in itself a safeguard against gambling-related problems. It said a low unit price could encourage more intensive participation through the purchase of more cartons and the holding of more games, particularly if sessions take place without the prevention, identification and detection measures that are mandatory for licensed halls. Among those tools the CEJ cited access registers, identity checks and player protection mechanisms, as well as the specific obligations licensed companies must meet.

Another risk the CEJ identified is the possible diversion of customers from traditional bingo halls to social activities. The organisation said it feared that uncontrolled proliferation of sessions in associations, social centres or neighbourhood premises could capture part of the demand that currently goes to licensed establishments, particularly if social sessions become normal in spaces with lower supervision requirements and lower operating costs.

The CEJ said licensed bingo halls are subject to a strict regulatory framework on tax, security, access control and administrative inspection. Operators pay fees and specific taxes, must verify customers' identities, consult registers of people barred from access and apply protection measures, and are subject to periodic inspections and administrative obligations that carry significant operating costs. Against these requirements, the CEJ said social bingo could operate with a significantly lower regulatory and tax burden, producing a competitive imbalance.

The organisation also expressed doubt about the Andalusian administration's capacity to inspect all social bingo sessions that could be held. It said it was necessary in particular to verify that the activities have no hidden profit motive and that the limits on amounts played and on the frequency of games are respected, and that insufficient supervision could facilitate hard-to-detect breaches, especially if the practice spreads to numerous centres and associations.

The CEJ's concerns also cover the public image of the gambling sector. It said legitimacy, social responsibility and participant protection are fundamental for companies operating within the regulated framework, and that permissiveness towards social bingo outside controlled establishments could normalise gambling in less supervised environments and weaken the responsibility and safety messages required of licensed operators. It said it feared that any incident related to these activities would damage the reputation of the sector as a whole, citing access by minors, fraud and the lack of adequate controls as possible problems.

The CEJ also warned of a risk that the format could expand progressively beyond the spaces initially envisaged. It said that although the impact might at first appear limited to residences, senior centres or associations, ambiguous regulation or an excessively flexible interpretation could facilitate an exponential expansion of social bingo. In that case, the organisation said, loss of customers and deterioration of business margins could affect the profitability of traditional halls and lead to closures, job losses and reduced investment in the regulated sector.

The CEJ said the fundamental problem is the lack of equal conditions between those operating under strict regulation and those that could offer a similar form of gambling with lower costs and obligations. It said the regulatory exception could become a source of unfair competition that is especially difficult to control, eroding halls' margins and making their long-term operation harder, and that any initiative in this area should be accompanied by effective and proportionate administrative control mechanisms to ensure compliance with the planned limits and prevent departures from the social, non-profit character of the activity. The organisation concluded by questioning whether the Junta de Andalucía currently has sufficient human, technical and administrative resources to carry out rigorous supervision of the new format.

The CEJ said it was putting the Andalusian government on notice about the consequences that regulating social bingo could have, not only through possible unfair competition with licensed establishments but also for taxation, player protection, security, employment, investment and the reputation of the industry as a whole.