Asensi Abogados closes ranks with Ceuta at Juan Vivas' Europa Forum: support for the territory and confidence in the future of online gambling

The Managing Partner and Founder of Asensi Abogados, Santiago Asensi, showed his support for Ceuta and its online gambling sector during the Informative Breakfast of the Europa Forum, organized by Nueva Economía Forum at the Four Seasons Hotel in Madrid and starring the president of the autonomous city, Juan Jesús Vivas, supported by the leadership of the Popular Party.

Asensi valued the support that Ceuta institutions have given to the sector from the outset, even before the firm opened its headquarters in the city. "We notice that the city of Ceuta, mainly through its authorities, mainly in the person of Kissy Chandiramani and also Juan Vivas, have supported a sector, they have given warmth to a sector that is used to exactly the opposite," he said, attributing this usual distance "mostly to the ignorance that exists about the knowledge of it."

Santiago Asensi framed his presence at the event as a gesture of support for the city and its government team. "It is justice: the day that Ceuta needs the support of the different actors and the different sectors, to be where we have to be, which is here today, supporting Juan Vivas and his entire government team in what is the defense of the national territory," he said.

Asked about the economic impact, Asensi acknowledged that "economic activity in general is suffering significantly" due to the situation in Ceuta and called for a quick resolution. "The sooner there is the departure of those who have invaded Spain, the better," he said, in terms that link the progress of the sector to the normalization of life in the city.

Regarding the perception of the international online gambling companies with which he works, the Managing Partner of Asensi Abogados admitted that there is concern, although he placed it in a plane of uncertainty rather than alarm. "There is concern, but right now what there is above all is a big question mark of how long this situation will last over time and how it will be resolved," he explained. Asensi pointed out that the incentives for companies to remain in Ceuta "not only continue, but are expanding", although he warned that the key is in the day-to-day life of the workers: "Companies are nourished by workers who are going to have to walk their streets, who are going to have to take their children to school; this abnormal situation may not be bearable for all families".

The founder of the firm insisted that the sector needs "the city to return to what it has been until July 30". As for the message he conveys to the companies, Asensi combined confidence in local institutions with reservations towards the management of the central government: "Peace of mind, in the sense that the authorities of Ceuta cannot be better; having Juan Vivas in Ceuta is what has to produce the most peace of mind for the companies that are there. But, at the same time, it is a sign of uncertainty to see how the national government is acting to solve this problem: it does not seem that they are providing very clear solutions that will give results in the short term".

The statements came in the run-up to Vivas' trip to Brussels to address the situation in the autonomous city with officials from the European institutions, on a day in which the president of Ceuta was accompanied by the leader of the PP, Alberto Núñez Feijóo, and a dozen regional leaders of the party. Asensi Abogados, which opened its headquarters in Ceuta in December 2024, has linked a large part of its strategy to the development of online gambling in the city.