Barcelona freezes new gambling licences after court ruling
Barcelona City Council has suspended the granting of new licences to gambling establishments following a recent Supreme Court ruling that partially annulled the city’s restrictive planning policy.
The suspension affects 바카라s, bingo halls and gaming venues citywide. According to , First Deputy Mayor Laia Bonet said the decision was aimed at preventing a “legal vacuum” that could allow new establishments to open while the council reassesses its regulatory framework.
The decision comes after Spain’s Supreme Court found parts of Barcelona’s 2021 Special Urban Plan on gambling to be unjustified. The plan had prohibited any new gambling venue from operating within 800 metres of schools and 450 metres of so-called “sensitive spaces”, such as youth facilities and health centres.
According to the newspaper, the court ruled that while municipalities are entitled to regulate gambling, such rules must be “carefully justified, proportionate, and respectful of free market principles, as well as existing regional regulations”.
A clash between public health and market freedoms
The strict rules were part of a wider push to tackle gambling addiction and shield vulnerable people, especially young people. The Special Urban Plan, now partially overturned, had played a central role in that strategy.
Since 2019, Barcelona has operated a Gambling Addiction Prevention Plan, which limits gambling advertising on public transport and in municipal spaces. It also requires city-funded organisations to adopt safeguards against addiction.
However, the Supreme Court’s decision has forced the council to put its long-term approach on hold. Officials now face the challenge of balancing public health objectives with national legal standards on business freedom.
A history of tension
Tensions around gambling in Barcelona are not new. Last year, Catalonia’s ombudsman, David Bondia, publicly criticised the city’s decision to host an international 바카라 and gambling conference. Bondia argued that the event ran counter to Barcelona’s own addiction prevention policies and called on the council to explore options for cancelling or renegotiating the deal.
With the latest suspension of licences, Barcelona appears to be doubling down on its political stance against gambling expansion.
