FEJAR and 1xCare agree to explore wider access to online therapy in Spain

FEJAR, the Spanish federation of rehabilitated gambling players, has signed a collaboration memorandum with 1xCare, the responsible-gambling initiative of 1xBet, the organisations said. The agreement is non-exclusive. The first area of work will be to study how access to FEJAR's online therapy and support services can be strengthened, including for people who face geographical or other barriers to receiving in-person care.

The memorandum is intended to prevent and reduce gambling-related harm, improve access to care and promote responsible-gambling education and evidence-based practices, according to the announcement. It sits within 1xCare's Support and Wellbeing pillar, which the initiative says aims to bring research, education, technology and player wellbeing into one framework. 1xCare was created this year as the responsible-gambling arm of 1xBet, a multinational betting company that holds licences to operate in Spain.

Both organisations stressed FEJAR's independence and the safeguards in the arrangement. FEJAR retains full responsibility for its professional methods, therapeutic processes and decisions. Support from 1xCare is not conditional on backing any commercial product or operator, will not be used for marketing or customer acquisition, and will not give 1xCare or any donor access to beneficiaries or influence over their care, the organisations said. Confidentiality and data protection are to be governed by the General Data Protection Regulation.

Any specific initiative involving funding, defined services or personal-data processing would require a separate written agreement, a due-diligence process and approval from the governing bodies of each entity, according to the announcement.

Gerardo Rodríguez Velo, president of FEJAR, said the federation believes preventing gambling-related harm requires a strong commitment to prevention, accessible support and the wellbeing of affected people and their families. He said the collaboration offers the chance to explore ways to strengthen access to support services while preserving FEJAR's professional independence and keeping beneficiaries' needs at the centre of its work.

Simon Westbury, president of 1xCare, said responsible gambling is a commitment and is not negotiable, and that it is at the centre of everything the initiative does. He said the collaboration is based on independence and respect for FEJAR's expertise, and that 1xCare's role is to help strengthen access to support for people affected by gambling-related harm, not to direct how that support is provided.

The agreement was announced two days after FEJAR marked the National Day Without Gambling on 29 October by calling for mandatory identification even for the coupon and the scratchcard. In September the federation met the Directorate General for Gambling Regulation as part of consultations on reform of the Gambling Law. This month it also highlighted €20,000 contributed by ICE Barcelona to an Ibero-American congress.