Spain’s anti-gambling point man says online betting operators continue to mount “an absurd challenge” of the government’s bid to halt betting sponsorships of local sports.

Last Friday, Spanish online sports betting licensee Betway announced that it was the new main sponsor of second division footballers RCD Espanyol de Barcelona. The deal will see Betway’s logo splashed across the front of the team’s shirts.

This is the second Spanish football shirt deal Betway has inked in recent weeks, following the team’s deal with La Liga club Real Betis Balompié. That deal, along with Dafabet’s recent two-year deal with Cádiz CF, resulted in Spain’s Consumer Affairs minister Alberto Garzón accusing the betting operators of “huge recklessness.”

Garzón (pictured) said the bookmakers were making these deals despite knowing the government’s stated intention to abolish online gambling sponsorships and restrict other forms of advertising starting this October. Garzón expressed frustration at why the operators and the footballers were choosing to openly defy the government’s stated aims.