Civil and Educational Division No. 4 of the Court of First Instance of Linares (Jaén) He condemned two gambling halls in this city To allow repeated access to a gambling person who has been registered since May 2021 on the register … General Prevention of Access to Gambling (RGIAJ).
The ruling reported by Europa Press partially supports the lawsuit and condemns the two salons. Which has the same owner To compensate the person who filed a lawsuit against them in the amount of 6,000 euros for the economic and moral damages they suffered.
The judicial decision confirms that the institutions allowed access to the affected person on a regular basis, failed to comply with regional regulations and systematically failed to control the access of persons to whom access was prohibited. He added: “Such dependence exists (…) The truth is that.” The plaintiff regularly entered the aforementioned building, Therefore, the defendant violated the applicable regulations, the ruling stated.
The plaintiff suffers from a gambling disorder that was diagnosed several years ago, with “a significant addiction to games of chance and betting in establishments dedicated to this type of activity.” In May 2021 it was registered in Public register of prohibition of access to gambling (RGIAJ), which implies “not being able to access any betting establishment, or conduct any type of transaction of that kind in your name from the Internet.”
From May 2021 to July of the same year, the plaintiff continued his treatment satisfactorily, achieving his goal of escaping his addiction. However, on July 12, 2021, the plaintiff suffered “A major setback to his addiction“And temporarily abandon the association and the professionals who were treating him.”
It was then that he again began to go to betting and gaming establishments. Thus, from July 12, 2021 to September 7, 2022, €30,568 were left at both locations.
“I trusted the system. I did what I had to do to protect myself and recover, but the salons ignored it all. For them, I was just another customer, even though entry was prohibited,” says the plaintiff.
“Every time they let me pass, they sent me back to treatment. “It’s not just a mistake: it’s a manipulation of the health of someone trying to get rid of addiction.” “This did not happen to me alone; If it is not controlled, “It can happen to anyone struggling to recover,” the affected person concluded.
For his lawyer, Carlos Chamorro, the ruling speaks not of “a mere oversight, but of repeated non-compliance that puts the health of the person undergoing treatment at risk.” He added that “The law requires the protection of weak players. “Failure to comply fuels a problem affecting thousands of families.”
“Excitement gambling is a public health problem, not a private issue. “If gambling operators do not comply with their obligations, they are directly contributing to the exacerbation of medically recognized disorders, which is unacceptable,” the lawyer said.
“This sentence not only brings justice to our client, but also sends a clear message,” Chamorro believes, “that non-compliance with the gambling law will not go unpunished. Protecting vulnerable people is not optional, it is a legal and moral duty.”
The ruling is not yet final and can be appealed to the Jaén court.