The Government of the Community of Madrid finally suspends authorizations to operate slots durin Alarm State

Madrid Regional Governmen (Comunidad de Madrid) has decided to temporarily suspend authorizations to operate slots in the region from the date the state of alarm was declared and until it ends. The measure is specified with the publication in the Official Gazette of the Community of Madrid (BOCAM) this past Wednesday the resolution of May 26, 2020, of the Director General for Security, Civil Protection and Training of the Ministry of Justice, Interior and Victims , by which said temporary suspension is agreed.

This measure is contemplated in the third final provision of Law 6/2011, of December 28, on Fiscal and Administrative Measures, which indicates that companies holding authorizations to operate amusement and gaming machines may request the temporary suspension of said authorizations to the competent body in the field of game regulation and management, being necessary to prove that the machines are not in operation. Since all the places where amusement and gaming machines can be operated have been closed since the declaration of the state of alarm, all the authorized machines fulfill the required requirement of not being in operation.

The text indicates that it is "advisable to agree to the temporary suspension of authorizations for the operation of type B, C and D amusement and gaming machines that are in an active situation as of the date of this resolution, addressed to a plurality of interested parties, with effects for all the companies that own this type of machines, in response to the numerous requests made by the various associations in the sector, which represent the interests of practically all entrepreneurs".

This suspension will take effect from the day of the declaration of the state of alarm, on March 14, 2020, until its completion, unless expressly and individually stated to the contrary by the companies holding the authorizations to operate the machines.

All the authorizations to operate machines affected by this temporary suspension measure will be automatically registered the day after the end of the alarm state, automatically and without the need for an individual request by the companies, except express and individualized manifestation to the contrary on the part of the companies holders of said authorizations of exploitation.