Barcelona City Council has suspended the granting of new licences for gambling venues across the city with immediate effect after Spain's Supreme Court annulled key parts of the planning rules it had used to restrict them. The freeze applies to gaming halls, bingo halls and casinos, and matters directly for residents, parents and business owners because no new venues of that kind can now be authorised while the new rules are being drafted.

According to the Ajuntament de Barcelona press office, the suspension was published and took effect immediately while the council prepares a new special urban planning scheme. Municipal sources cited by La Vanguardia said the freeze will last for one year and can be extended for a further year.

The move follows a Supreme Court ruling that partially struck down the Special Urban Planning Plan approved in 2021. That plan had limited where gambling establishments could open in Barcelona, including in Ciutat Vella, Horta and peripheral areas highlighted by the council as vulnerable neighbourhoods.

The municipal government said it would draft a new regulation that gives full legal cover to the city's aim of protecting children and other vulnerable groups and tackling gambling addiction.

What the Supreme Court overturned

The Supreme Court cancelled the articles that barred gambling venues from opening within 800 metres of educational centres and within 450 metres of other sensitive sites. The official press statement says those sites included health centres and youth facilities. La Vanguardia's reporting on the judgment also says the invalidated restrictions covered libraries.

The ruling did not say the council lacked authority to regulate these businesses through planning law. Instead, as set out by the council and echoed by deputy mayor Laia Bonet in comments reported by La Vanguardia, the court found that such restrictions must be carefully justified, proportionate and compatible with free market principles, freedom of establishment and the relevant Catalan sector rules on gambling.

  • Previous local rule struck down in part: Barcelona's 2021 Special Urban Planning Plan.
  • Distance rule annulled near schools: 800 metres.
  • Distance rule annulled near other sensitive sites: 450 metres.
  • General minimum under Generalitat rules, as cited by La Vanguardia: 100 metres from regulated teaching centres.

That distinction is important for operators as well as neighbourhood groups. The court ruling, as described in the official statement, challenges how the restrictions were justified, not the city's ability to regulate gambling venues at all.

What the licence freeze means for businesses and neighbourhoods

For business owners considering a new gambling venue in Barcelona, the immediate practical effect is that the council is not granting new licences anywhere in the city while the replacement plan is prepared. The suspension covers gaming halls, bingo halls and casinos.

For residents in areas that have seen pressure from these premises, the council says the pause is intended to stop new openings while its legal services rewrite the rules. The stated goal is to preserve as much of the original restriction regime as possible, but with the legal amendments needed to withstand challenge.

What affected business owners can do now

  • Check the official municipal notice and updates through the Ajuntament de Barcelona announcement, which confirms the suspension is already in force.
  • Assume that new licence applications for gaming halls, bingo halls and casinos will not be processed during the suspension period.
  • Monitor whether the one-year freeze is extended by a further year, as municipal sources told La Vanguardia is possible.

The council has not, in the source material provided, given a completion date for the new special plan. What it has confirmed is the next legal step: drafting a new planning instrument intended to give what it calls full legal guarantees to the city's restrictions.

Primary sources: Ramon. Reported by Source Text Link, Natàlia Vila, Jordi Palmer, lavanguardia.com, beteve.cat, Clara Blanchar, europapress.es, Maria Ortega, Carlos Losada, Gerard Pruna, Metrópoli Abierta - Urban Life.