EXCLUSIVE SPECIAL

SPAIN: This is how online gaming operators have changed in 48 hours to adapt to the urgent measures required by the Government

From noon yesterday, Thursday, April 2, online gambling operators in the Spanish regulated market began to modify both their web pages and any promotional activity. At InfoPlay we have closely followed this unusual process by which almost 70 gaming companies -many of them affected by the mobility restrictions of these days- have managed to adapt their way of presenting their products and communication channels to the standards established in the Article 37 of Royal Decree-Law 11/2020 of March 31st  and seeking to "protect vulnerable people" at a time when the population is homebound.

Although we cannot echo what the reaction of all the operators has been; In an exhaustive review of more than 30 of them, we have been able to verify that compliance with the guidelines set by the Ministry of Consumer Affairs has been practically total. However, we see completely different ways of adapting to the new reality marked by the disappearance of bonuses, the suspension of most active promotions and the forced changes that are required to be made in communication with your players - through the Social Networks or through their own emails or instant messages.

Thus, the objective of this INFOPLAY'S SPECIAL is none other than to document through some specific cases how they are presented from today until the end of the Alarm State (which officially ends on April 12).

• Welcome Bonuses Disappear on Main Pages

The usual large Welcome Bonus space on the operators home is now made up of images without text or in some cases, generic messages that ignore any attempt to capture the attention of customers. A clear example is how GoldenPark has removed the text and registration buttons on its main page, limiting itself to displaying an image and then its slot products.


PokerStars.es has taken an almost identical strategy, simply showing images and a promotional video in which, their poker tables are seen while the user navigates through the main page of their website discovering the usual products and sections.

The German operator Interwetten.es, has chosen to - in addition to disappearing its most commercial communications - include a slide on its home page, in which they explicitly inform that they will not have any new promotions.


On the other hand, Betfair.es has opted for an even more forceful strategy, in addition to the characteristics mentioned above: eliminating the texts (leaving only the images), disabling bonuses and promotions, and offering a Responsible Gaming message in the foreground.


In the case of 888, both on its global page and on other operational pages in Spain (888poker.es, 888sport.es and 888casino.es), it has been chosen to eliminate its usual Welcome Bonuses and Registration Offers, keeping some images neutral.


We have also been able to verify that on the first day that the measures of the Ministry of Consumer Affairs came into effect, the operator has not announced itself on television in the only authorized time slot -from 1 to 5 in the morning-.

For its part, Luckia.es has also drastically changed its home page and left its latest advertising campaign alongside other messages without explicit calls to action.

• Special explanatory communications

Despite the important change that means cutting off any commercial communication with their clients through the usual methods, mainly by email, some operators have sent or displayed specific communications to inform about the measures taken and explain the reasons. A way to reassure all customers that they will notice the disappearance of everyday actions such as receiving a daily bonus for their activity, winning a tournament ticket or having improved odds in the sports betting markets.

Also, we have been able to verify how especially online poker operators have been clear about it. 888 and Winamax have informed their players using messages such as the following:

We contact you to confirm that, as always, our games offer is still 100% operational.
However, temporarily and until the alarm state ends, we cannot offer you new bonuses. This measure is part of a decree that affects all Spanish gaming operators including 888.es.
Like you, we are confident that normalcy will be restored as soon as possible. We assure you that our commitment remains to offer you the best gaming experience and we thank you for your loyalty to our brand.
We take this opportunity to remind you of the importance of maintaining responsible behavior, especially when it comes to gaming.

For its part, Winamax has been more explicit in announcing the specific promotions affected in the coming days:

Miles: no further miles will be credited at this time. The accumulated miles can continue to be used in the VIP store.

Bonuses: suspension of any loyalty bonus such as the Winamax Series or the welcome bonus. Starting at 00:00 on Friday, April 3, the bonuses will be interrupted and the players will be paid the proportional part 48 hours later.

VIP system: suspension of any advantage of the VIP system.

Challenges: suspension of all daily or weekly cash, Sit & Go or Expresso challenges.

Eureka promotion: suspension of the Eureka promotion on our cash tables.

• Social Networks: activity is maintained

In addition to checking how platforms such as YouTube have suspended the insertion of advertisements from game operators at the beginning or during the videos, we can see how the general tone of communications on social networks has changed towards basically informative messages about the product and continuity has been given to the change initiated since the suspension of sporting events, from offering generic content related to questions, historical data or curiosities.



In any case, most operators continue with their 100% active Twitter, Instagram and Facebook accounts, maintaining interaction with followers, but eliminating promotional information. On the platform that operators such as Winamax or PokerStars were using for streaming broadcasts -Twitch- their suspension has been announced until further notice.

Another of the complex tasks for operators has been to temporarily get rid of advertising banners and mentions published on external websites as advertising. In this regard, we highlight operators that have powerful sponsorships such as the following:

• Kirolbet.es: Kirolbet Baskonia (basketball)
• 888sport.es: Liga Endesa (basketball)
• Sportium.es: Professional Football League (football)
• Winamax.es: Granada CF (football)
• Codere.es: Real Madrid
• Betway.es: Alavés Deportivo
• Bwin.es: Valencia CF

In most cases, we have seen that such important web pages as Real Madrid, Baskonia, La Liga Endesa or La Liga, the usual advertising pieces of operators such as Codere, Kirolbet, 888sport.es or Sportium have completely disappeared; and they even eliminated some of the banners that announced the collaborator status of the companies. In cases such as bwin at Valencia CF or betway.es with Alavés; We have not seen advertising banners either, although designs related to sponsorship are maintained.