The Generalitat Valenciana has opened a formal public consultation on a draft decree to replace the region's gaming room framework dating back to 2015. Operators and industry stakeholders have 15 days to submit objections and suggestions — either through the GVA Participa portal or by email to the relevant sub-directorate general.
The move is framed around guaranteeing "legal certainty," but the substance of the draft introduces several structural changes that will affect how gaming and recreational rooms operate across the Valencian Community.
Stricter Physical Requirements for New Venues
The proposed regulation tightens minimum surface area requirements depending on venue type and location. Gaming rooms in municipalities exceeding 120,000 inhabitants must have a minimum usable floor space of 130 square metres; in smaller populations, the threshold drops to 100 square metres. Recreational rooms face a separate minimum of 50 square metres.
Machine requirements are equally prescriptive. A gaming room operating in a large-population municipality cannot function with fewer than 12 type B machines. Additionally, gaming activity and related elements must not be visible from public thoroughfares — a measure with clear implications for shopfront design and venue layout planning.
Bar service remains permitted within gaming rooms, but the draft caps that area at no more than 25% of the total venue surface, with no outdoor terrace allowed.
Digital Obligations and Admission Controls
Нижче наведено зведену таблицю мінімальних вимог до площі та кількості машин для різних типів закладів відповідно до проєкту декрету. Ці параметри безпосередньо впливають на вибір приміщення та операційне планування.
| Тип закладу | Розмір населеного пункту | Мінімальна площа | Мінімум машин типу B |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ігровий зал (gaming room) | Понад 120 000 мешканців | 130 м² | 12 |
| Ігровий зал (gaming room) | До 120 000 мешканців | 100 м² | Не вказано |
| Розважальний зал (recreational room) | Будь-який | 50 м² | — |
| Барна зона (у складі ігрового залу) | Будь-який | Макс. 25% від загальної площі | — |
Planning Ahead for Physical Compliance
Operators planning new venues near the 120,000-inhabitant municipality threshold should verify current population figures with official regional census data — boundaries can shift between regulatory cycles. The visibility restriction on gaming activity from public thoroughfares may require architectural modifications such as frosted glazing, recessed entrances, or internal layout redesigns that go beyond simple signage changes.
Digitalisation is no longer optional under the proposed framework — it becomes a structural legal obligation for all licence holders.
The draft mandates exclusive electronic processing for all administrative files submitted by licence holders, on the assumption that operators already have the technical infrastructure to comply. This builds on a requirement previously applied only to new venues.
On the security side, venues will be required to deploy admission control systems that query the Registro de personas excluidas de la Comunitat Valenciana in real time — a meaningful compliance burden that demands reliable IT integration with the regional exclusion registry. This mirrors the real-time registry access controls already being deployed in La Rioja's new biometric verification framework.
Financial Guarantees and the Removal of a Prior Authorisation Step
The draft establishes mandatory financial guarantees: €12,000 for gaming rooms and €5,000 for recreational rooms. Operators seeking to install machine interconnection systems face an additional surcharge of €10,000 per system.
One deregulatory element stands out: the draft eliminates the requirement for prior administrative authorisation to operate sports betting within gaming rooms — a joint application previously required from both the venue operator and the betting operator.
Проєкт декрету встановлює обов'язкові фінансові гарантії залежно від типу закладу та наявності систем міжз'єднання машин. Наведена нижче таблиця систематизує ці вимоги для зручності планування.
| Тип закладу / умова | Обов'язкова гарантія |
|---|---|
| Ігровий зал (gaming room) | €12,000 |
| Розважальний зал (recreational room) | €5,000 |
| Система міжз'єднання машин (кожна) | +€10,000 |
Warning
Operators running gaming rooms with machine interconnection systems face a stacked financial obligation: the €12,000 base guarantee plus €10,000 per interconnection system installed. A venue with multiple interconnected systems could therefore face guarantee requirements well above €20,000 before a single machine is activated. The draft does not appear to specify a cap on the number of systems subject to the surcharge.
Compliance Implications for Operators
The 15-day window is tight for an industry that will need to assess the cumulative impact of these changes. The shift to mandatory electronic processing affects administrative workflows across all existing licence holders, not just new entrants. Meanwhile, the real-time registry query requirement raises practical questions about system integration costs and vendor readiness that the draft does not appear to address directly. Operators with bar spaces currently exceeding the 25% cap will also need to consider whether physical reconfiguration is required before the new rules take effect. The Valencia gaming framework approved earlier this year already signalled the regional government's direction on venue density controls, making this consultation a continuation of that broader regulatory push.
According to AzarPlus.
