Recent snap elections in Spain haven't changed the fact that no one party has been able to win a lopsided majority of the electorate. As a result, sports betting is being used as a political tool by two political parties that have allied to unseat the incumbent.
The ruling Spanish Socialist Workers' Party (PSOE, to use its Spanish acronym) is already in danger from the political alliance the Popular Party (PP) and Vox have created. Realizing that neither had a chance to unseat the incumbent on its own, the two parties combined their efforts.

The PP/VOX combination nearly took control after Pedro Sanchez, the prime minister of Spain, requested new elections. But neither it nor the PSOE received enough support. 

Both sides are currently making another effort to gather support wherever they can.

The use of gambling in politics

The installation of 36 new sports betting locations, mostly in the provinces of Salamanca and Valladolid in the autonomous community of Castilla y León, has been approved by PP/Vox. Sportium has been given licenses by the Castilla y León government, which is led by PP's Alfonso Fernández Maueco and Vox PP Juan Garca Gallardo, for the introduction of new properties through 2026.

On the surface, this choice seems to be a snub of the Spanish government's executive branch, which in March this year sent new gambling reforms to the Spanish Parliament. 

Although some measures had already been taken by autonomous communities, the legislation established a minimum distance that must exist between gambling establishments and educational institutions.

There is no evidence that the PP/Vox coalition approved the new bookmakers as a deliberate strategy to win support. However, their choice demonstrates that the two parties are, directly or indirectly, acting in opposition to the PSOE and its policies on a number of issues.

At a time when the issue of problem gambling is at the forefront of social discourse, there are more legal sports betting venues opening up in the area. This new decision by PP/Vox goes against the anti-gambling stance that Spain and the PSOE have made a strong point of emphasizing. 

Some claim that the most vulnerable groups are primarily affected by compulsive gambling. The PP/Vox ruling doesn't seem to support the increased gaming regulations that Spain's gaming regulator and the Ministry of Finance, to which the regulator reports, have been working to implement. As a result, there is currently an argument over how the government should be unified and what it should do to oversee gambling.

Future of Spain is at Stake

More is at stake than just the argument over the advantages and disadvantages of gambling and sports betting. Spain's political divisions have reached new heights, and the PP/Vox coalition's surprisingly quick ascent to prominence highlights this fact. 

The PSOE and PP/Vox are both working extremely hard to find more support. Congress will convene on August 17 to discuss the coming events. The next step is for Spain's Chamber of Deputies to elect a new prime minister.

A candidate can only be elected if at least 176 of the 380 seats are cast in favor of them. No one party currently has control over more than 172.

If no one receives the required minimum, a simple vote will be conducted, but only if the deputies concur. Parliamentarians will then have 60 days to appoint a new prime minister if that is the case. If there is no progress by then, new elections will be held after the Spanish Parliament is dissolved. 

There is a good chance that Spain will relapse into a dark period if PP/Vox succeeds. According to Vox, it wants to essentially rewrite the constitution to stop autonomous communities from discussing secession. That is a direct attack on Catalonia, the region that Barcelona calls home and which has occasionally discussed secession in private.

Additionally, Vox has stated that it wants to dissolve the Mossos d'Esquadra, the community's autonomous police force that largely supersedes the Civil Guard and National Police of Spain.

If the coalition won and Vox got its way, it might cause problems similar to those that have previously existed in the autonomous Basque region of Spain. It has long sought independence from Spain, and the separatist group Basque Homeland and Liberty (ETA, for its Basque acronym) has committed numerous terrorist acts in support of that cause.