DGOJ, Spain’s Directorate General of Gambling maintains its principal objective to significantly tighten the surveillance of gambling activities and the monitoring of operator licences.
The message was reiterated during a plenary session with the Ministry of Consumer Affairs, which retains overarching responsibility for the strategic governance of Spain’s gambling sector.
Hosted at the Ministry’s Madrid headquarters, the meeting convened national and regional representatives to align regulatory priorities for the remainder of 2025. The DGOJ reaffirmed its commitment to deepening federal oversight and harmonising consumer protection standards across Spain’s 17 Autonomous Communities.
At the heart of this strategy lies a set of forthcoming technical measures tied to the 2023 Royal Decree on safer gambling environments.
Key Projects include mandatory player risk assessments, automated interventions, and affordability checks. However, the DGOJ has yet to publish the final technical framework detailing how it will implement:
- Real-time player monitoring
- Centralised database for Under-24s customers
- Mandatory messaging for at-risk users
- A universal system of affordability thresholds and deposit/time limits
The absence of these specifications has left operators awaiting clarity on key compliance obligations.
Further updates were teased at the recent Gaming in Spain conference in June, where DGOJ Director General Mikel Arana confirmed that the regulator would soon publish its finalised behavioural algorithm.
The tool is designed to monitor customer interactions across platforms — particularly for vulnerable groups and individuals under the age of 24 — and flag early signs of problematic gambling behaviour.
In parallel, the plenary session approved the Gambling Policy Council’s annual report and discussed plans for enhanced inter-agency cooperation. Stakeholders reviewed forthcoming decrees that will expand the DGOJ’s powers of inspection, sanction, and market surveillance.
Information transparency also featured prominently on the agenda, with the DGOJ preparing to launch new public-facing datasets and campaigns targeting students, families, and at-risk communities.
Closing the meeting, the DGOJ reaffirmed its intent to pursue a regulatory model that balances the commercial sustainability of the market with robust consumer protections and the broader public interest. The session concluded with a consensus to maintain tight coordination between the federal government and Spain’s regional authorities as further legislative instruments are rolled out.
