With a rise in gambling in the Balearic Islands, slot machines will be updated to have warning signs and less encouraging features.
The Balearic Islands are a Spanish island group in the Balearic sea, its four largest islands are Mallorca, Menorca, Ibiza, and Formentera. This Spanish region is the first in the country to alter its machines in this fashion.
Slot machines will have a warning screen that will feature questions to the user about their age and if they are “aware that the game can create addictions.”
Alongside this feature, the machine software will also turn off certain features that extend play, and when the machines are vacant they won’t have any lights or sounds on, but instead will display a static image of the warning screen.
Per the Government's statement, the primary aim of the new restrictions is to ensure vulnerable individuals were protected.
The new legislation has been in force since 8 April 2022 and is much stricter regarding the protection of vulnerable people than the previous regional laws.
There are about 5,000 slot machines in the island group and although the official deadline provided by the law for the adaptation of the machines goes until the end of 2024, authorities are trying to push it to be carried out as soon as possible.
It is unclear as to whether the warning signs will deter people from playing long-term on the slot machines but only time will tell.
