Spain’s Supreme Court ruled that autonomous communities cannot inspect or intervene in ONCE coupon terminals used in hospitality venues. The court annulled Asturias’s order to remove the devices and the earlier regional court ruling, finding the terminals relate to state lotteries governed by national law.
The ruling limits regional authorities’ ability to inspect lottery terminals used by hospitality businesses.
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Cejuego said it had reported ONCE and Spain’s state lottery operator, SELAE, to the Ministry of Consumer Affairs over claims that minors and self-excluded people could gamble with them. Cejuego director general Alejandro Landaluce called for the ministry to make checks; the claims are allegations, not findings described in the report. The association also argued that public and private operators should face equivalent consumer-protection and advertising rules.
Spain's Cejuego has asked the Ministry of Consumer Affairs to carry out checks on ONCE and SELAE over claims that the public operators allow minors and people on self-exclusion registers to gamble, the association's director general said. Alejandro Landaluce, Cejuego's director general, said the association had raised the matter with the ministry and that the claims concern both ONCE's scratchcards and Loterías. The allegations are not findings, and the report describes no decision by the ministry or by the DGOJ.
Cejuego told Spain’s Consumer Affairs Ministry that gambling rules treat private operators differently from ONCE and Loterías. Its director general, Alejandro Landaluce, said public operators face more permissive conditions and raised concerns about checks preventing minors and self-excluded people from accessing gambling; Cejuego also called for equivalent obligations across the market.
Cejuego has taken its criticism of regulatory differences between private gambling companies, ONCE and Loterías to Spain's Consumer Affairs Ministry. Its director general, Alejandro Landaluce, argues that public operators have more permissive conditions and flags possible shortcomings in checks meant to stop minors and people on self-exclusion registers from gaining access.
Jesús Serrano Escudero, president of the Castilla-La Mancha Gambling Business Association, said Supreme Court rulings issued in April 2026 on ONCE terminals in hospitality venues create unequal conditions for private gambling businesses. He proposed reviewing terminal exemptions, reforming gambling legislation and considering challenges before Spain’s Constitutional Court or the Court of Justice of the European Union.
Jesús Serrano Escudero, president of the Castilla-La Mancha Gambling Business Association, warned about the situation of private land-based gambling at the XIX Congreso de Juego de Castilla y León in Soria. He focused on the consequences of the Supreme Court rulings of April 2026 on ONCE terminals installed in hospitality establishments.
Speakers at the first panel of the XIX Castilla y León Gambling Congress presented differing views on the outlook for land-based gambling. Carlos Duelo advocated targeted operational changes, while Jesús Serrano argued that differing rules for private businesses and state operators create competitive imbalance; the discussion also covered technology and artificial intelligence.
Speakers at the first panel of the XIX Castilla y León Gambling Congress set out differing views on the outlook for land-based gambling, with one calling for targeted operational changes and another warning of a critical regulatory imbalance between private operators and state operators. The panel, titled "The different games of chance at the crossroads: evolution or restructuring?", was moderated by Fátima Pablos Mateos, director general of taxes for the Junta de Extremadura.
AESA Aragón president José Antonio Rubio said private gambling halls face different regulatory conditions from public operators and other in-person gambling businesses. He cited 121 venues and a 500-metre separation requirement, and estimated the halls’ direct, indirect and induced economic impact at €517 million in Aragón.