THE Navarrese Association of Gaming Room Entrepreneurs (Anesar), which represents 10 companies in the sector in Navarre and employs 300 peoplewarned of the “deadly” consequences of advances in the closure of its premisesenvisaged in the regulatory development of the law of the gamewhich will mean the 80 to 100 people laid off “from one day to the next”.
This was stated during a parliamentary appearance by the association’s secretary general, Juan Lacarrawho criticized that there was “little real dialogue” And “no negotiation in the face of such ambitious and complex regulations.” Added to this is the “lack of transparency” and criticized the fact that the association had to contact the Navarre City Hall to find out about the file after several requests for information that were not accepted.
Lacarra criticized the fact that after presenting allegations In 2023, the government of Navarre modified, in less than a month, the text including a “rreduced hours“for the games rooms three hoursmoving from closing at 3:30 p.m. to midnight:30 a.m., justifying “public order reasons” which “did not appear” during treatment. Furthermore, he stated that The Interior Ministry’s judicial services “questioned these decisions”. lack of justification and risk of disproportion”.
“We will have to close the gaming rooms at half past twelve, but the bars with slot machines, bingo and, of course, online gambling“, stressed Lacarra, who criticized that “there is a comparative offense with these sectors, without initial justification, with a further justification” that “contradicts what the provincial police say” and “questioned by the legal services themselves.”
He also stressed that “we have no report from the government that analyzes the economic and labor impact of these measures“. In this sense, he assured that “the first consequence of the reduction of hours is the job loss“, with the loss of 80 to 100 workers.
He also rejected two other measures envisaged in the regulatory development of the gambling law, such as “the loss of interconnection between machines“, that “we have been doing this for 20 years” and that “we are excluded from the operation” of BMB machines. What is “going to reduce the competitiveness of our premiseswhile others remain open at these times and with this type of machinery operating, which will make the situation worse and there will surely be others. closures“.
Lacarra stressed that “companies have invested and realized their business plans based on certain conditions that at the moment they look serious modified and without justification“, which he described as “a clear attack on legal certainty” and “could lead to a series of claims or complaints from companies”.
Thus, the representative of Anesar summarized that “we have a project which contains certain points which are neither necessary, nor opportune, nor proportionate, nor effective in any way” and which, however, “will leave more than 90 workers without their current means of livelihood“.
It’s the groups’ turn, Javier García, spokesperson for the PPNa group that requested the working session with Anesar, did not want to evaluate the reduction of hours in the gaming rooms. However, it expressed its concern about the “assignment” to employment and criticized the “comparative grievance” that “puts the sector in a delicate situation” by modifying the regulations “without any type of explanation.”
From UPN, Marta Alvarezcalled for “maintaining a balance between respecting the freedom” of activity of gaming rooms and the “protection of vulnerable people”. Likewise, he considered it “not serious” that the Government of Navarre “has not analyzed the impact of the regulation on employment” and urged to approach the modification of schedules with “greater transparency and rigor”.
Socialist Inma Jurío He said he understood “the divergence between companies with the decisions taken by governments limiting the activity they carried out”. Faced with accusations of lack of dialogue and participation, he recalled that the draft regulation “has been subject to public participation for three months, approved by the Gambling Council and will now be submitted to the opinion of the Navarre Council”.
The representative of EH Bildu Adolfo Araiz He considered it “striking” that in less than a month the project had been modified to include the reduction of hours with an “a posteriori” justification and that the legal services of the ministry “had caused problems”. And he stressed that “it is time to maintain dialogue and rectify if necessary”.
Blanca Regúlez, by Geroa Bai, expressed concern about “the impact that reduced hours may have on employment” and stressed that it is “surprising” that the contributions paid by the association have not been discussed within the Gaming Council, of which he is a member.
Miguel Garrido, from Contigo-Zurekin, He stressed that the Government of Navarre “does not have to negotiate a regional decree” with the sector but “it must dialogue and know the opinion of all agents”. According to him, the schedule “is not a matter of public order” but rather if “we want the lounges to be an alternative for nightlife”. And he calls for “a balance between the freedom for them to develop their economic activity and the protection of vulnerable groups that may be affected” by gambling addiction.
Finally, Emilio Jimenez, from Vox, shared the need to “seek a balance in activity, both in employment, in the affection of vulnerable people and in freedom.” He said that “the lack of dialogue of this government is not surprising” and stressed that “it is time to improve things, to follow the procedures to the letter.”
