SAJUCAL warns Castilla y León payment restrictions threaten gaming hall viability

The president of SAJUCAL, Carmen Rodrigo, has asked the Junta de Castilla y León to coordinate reform of the region's gaming law with pending regulations, to allow alternatives to cash and to widen the range of gaming and complementary activities, according to an interview published by Recreativo on 23 October 2026.

Rodrigo said SAJUCAL, together with associations representing the region's other private gaming subsectors, is asking to use the same payment methods as any other business. She named bank cards, payment terminals (TPV), TITO systems and cash machines among the alternatives to cash it wants normalised and brought into operation. She said the main obstacle is regulatory, because adding these payment methods depends on reform of the regulations covering all land-based gaming subsectors, and that the Junta has told the sector this reform will be addressed shortly.

She said the change to the Castilla y León gaming law, which would take effect on 1 January 2027, would clearly restrict payment methods so that only cash could be used until the new regulations are approved. She said working exclusively with cash exposes staff to robberies, which she said are increasingly frequent, and that the measures would reduce the profitability of gaming halls and other gaming establishments, putting their continuity and the jobs they generate at risk.

Rodrigo said all private land-based gaming subsectors in Castilla y León, through the Mesa Intersectorial, have asked the administration for a channel of dialogue, and that she hopes the law change can ultimately be withdrawn in the Cortes. She asked the Junta to maintain dialogue with the sector and to coordinate legal changes with the new regulations so that companies do not remain in a limbo that puts their viability at risk. She described two points as non-negotiable: enabling alternatives to cash as soon as possible and widening the gaming and complementary activities on offer.

On player protection, Rodrigo said innovation and protection are not in conflict and set out three pillars: secure and traceable electronic payment methods, effective access controls through biometric systems already provided for in the region's gaming law, and staff training in responsible gaming. She said SAJUCAL has for years offered training courses to members and their workers through ANESAR.