Senior Citizens Step Into the Frontline of Behavioural Addiction Prevention
Spain's Plataforma para el Juego Sostenible and the Red Internacional de Adultos Mayores Preventores (RIAMP) have formalised a collaboration agreement aimed at repositioning older adults not as passive recipients of harm-reduction policy, but as active agents driving it. The three-year initial agreement signals a deliberate shift in how the responsible gambling sector approaches community-level prevention — leveraging the social capital of the senior population rather than working around it.
The accord was signed by the secretaries general of both organisations: Javier Martín Nieto on behalf of RIAMP and Cristina García representing Plataforma para el Juego Sostenible. It establishes a stable framework for sharing knowledge, coordinating initiatives, and developing joint actions across prevention and education — areas where both bodies identify a structural gap in current approaches.
A Shared Premise: Seniors as Prevention Stakeholders
3 роки
Початковий термін дії угоди між Plataforma para el Juego Sostenible та RIAMP
2 організації
Підписанти угоди: RIAMP та Plataforma para el Juego Sostenible
1 моніторингова комісія
Змішана комісія для оцінки ефективності та розширення спільних ініціатив
The partnership rests on a foundational argument: that older adults possess a unique capacity to detect risk situations, provide family support, and transmit values around personal responsibility and self-care. This positions the senior collective as a resource in prevention ecosystems rather than simply a demographic to be protected.
RIAMP brings its expertise in active ageing and the empowerment of older adults, promoting their direct participation in prevention initiatives. For Plataforma para el Juego Sostenible, the agreement reinforces a broader strategy built around education, training, and awareness — the same pillars underpinning its Proyecto FES, an initiative designed to anticipate and address the risks associated with behavioural addictions before they escalate. Spain's wider responsible gambling landscape has seen growing investment in prevention research, with the DGOJ allocating over €1 million in gaming disorder prevention funding across a range of institutional programmes.
“The challenge of prevention demands a cross-cutting and intergenerational approach. Older people have enormous potential as reference points for accompaniment, listening, and transmitting preventive values.”
— Javier Martín, Secretary General of RIAMP
“This agreement reinforces our conviction that prevention is a shared task and that the life experience of older people can become a fundamental asset in building safer, more informed, and more responsible environments.”
— Cristina García, Secretary General of Plataforma para el Juego Sostenible
Практичний орієнтир для операторів
Proyecto FES — ініціатива Plataforma para el Juego Sostenible — побудована на принципі превентивного втручання до появи проблемної поведінки. Операторам та compliance-командам варто розглянути подібний підхід: залучення вже існуючих громадських мереж (зокрема, організацій людей похилого віку) може суттєво знизити вартість охоплення порівняно з побудовою власної інфраструктури аутрічу з нуля.
Governance and Scope of the Three-Year Agreement
Beyond the symbolic dimension, the agreement carries concrete governance provisions. A mixed monitoring commission will be established, tasked with designing future actions, evaluating the measurable impact of joint initiatives, and expanding collaboration into new areas of work as the partnership matures. This built-in review mechanism is notable — it suggests both parties intend the agreement to evolve beyond its initial scope rather than remain static over its three-year term.
The broader strategic framing centres on what both organisations call "social co-responsibility" and early prevention, embedding the senior collective at the heart of efforts to promote a culture of responsible leisure and social wellbeing.
Вбудований механізм моніторингу перетворює угоду з декларативного документа на живий інструмент — це саме той формат, який регулятори в різних юрисдикціях дедалі частіше вимагають від превентивних програм.
What This Model Signals for the Responsible Gambling Sector
The Plataforma para el Juego Sostenible – RIAMP alliance raises a question that extends well beyond Spain: is the industry sufficiently utilising existing community networks — particularly those involving older adults — in its harm-prevention architecture? The conventional model tends to focus prevention outreach on younger demographics or individuals already exhibiting problem gambling behaviours. This agreement inverts that logic, treating the senior population as an early-warning and peer-support layer.
Operators and compliance officers tracking responsible gambling innovation should note the intergenerational framing here. The Canary Islands Parliament's approval of a gaming addiction prevention plan illustrates how regional authorities across Spain are independently constructing prevention architectures — making cross-institutional models like this one increasingly relevant to policy discussions. If Proyecto FES demonstrates measurable results through this expanded network, it could provide a replicable model for community-based prevention that regulators in other jurisdictions may find compelling. The creation of a formal monitoring commission also points toward a data-informed evaluation approach — the kind of evidence base that regulators increasingly require before endorsing prevention frameworks at a policy level. Whether the three-year timeframe is sufficient to generate that evidence base remains the key operational question.
According to AzarPlus.
