Madrid appoints Jorge Rodrigo to oversee regional gambling portfolio

The Comunidad de Madrid regional government has appointed Jorge Rodrigo to head the department that oversees gambling in the region, replacing Carlos Novillo. The regional government said its governing council approved the departures and appointments at an extraordinary meeting held by teleconference on Monday. Rodrigo was due to take office on Wednesday 28 October, after his appointment was published in the Boletín Oficial de la Comunidad de Madrid.

Novillo, who was minister for Environment, Agriculture and the Interior, is leaving the government of Isabel Díaz Ayuso to join the People's Party list for Madrid in the general election on 29 November, led by Alberto Núñez Feijóo. Rodrigo was previously minister for Housing, Transport and Infrastructure. His deputy, vice-minister José María García Gómez, succeeds him at the housing department. The regional government said the reshuffle is the second of this legislative term and also affects the vice-ministry for the Presidency and Local Administration.

The department Rodrigo takes over handles gambling through the Subdirección General de Ordenación y Gestión del Juego, attached to the Secretaría General Técnica, which in turn oversees the Área de Inspección del Juego. According to the report, it processes authorisations for gaming halls and betting shops, the relocation of machines, sanction proceedings and the Register of Bans on Access to Gambling.

Novillo joined the department in June 2023, at the start of the legislative term. One of his last signatures on gambling was published in the regional gazette on the same day his departure became known: Order 3907/2026, signed on 14 October, which reorganises the delegation of powers in the department. Among other things, it assigns approval of gambling-related spending to the head of the Dirección General de Suelo up to €225,000, and to the vice-ministry above that amount.

The regional government highlighted Novillo's handling of emergencies, including the Sierra Oeste fire last summer and episodes of the dana weather system, as well as aid plans for livestock farming and agriculture. It cited for Rodrigo the Law on Impulso y Desarrollo Equilibrado de la Región, intended to speed up housing construction and cut procedures, along with extensions to Metro lines 3 and 11, automation of line 6 and the Plan Vive. According to the report, neither career has so far had a direct link to gambling.

Rodrigo arrives at a department the sector has followed closely for its planning policy on gambling establishments, which set a reduction in betting shops in the region. The appointment comes a month before the general election and with the regional budget for 2027 still pending.