🇪🇸Spain gambling regulation

Legal framework at a glance

Spain regulates gambling at two levels. Ley 13/2011, de regulación del juego covers gambling offered nationwide, which in practice means online gambling, while the 17 autonomous communities regulate land-based casinos, bingo halls, arcades and betting shops in their territories. National online licences were first issued in 2012, and the regulated market opened in June of that year.

Item	Position (October 2026)
Regulator	Dirección General de Ordenación del Juego (DGOJ)
Online casino, betting, poker	Licensed
Lotteries	Reserved to SELAE and ONCE
Land-based gambling	Regional regulation
Self-exclusion	RGIAJ national register

The regulator

The DGOJ sits within the Ministry of Social Rights, Consumer Affairs and Agenda 2030, under the General Secretariat for Consumer Affairs and Gambling. It issues licences, supervises operators, runs the RGIAJ and sanctions unlicensed activity. It also publishes regular data on the online market and runs public information on safer gambling. It was originally intended as a temporary body pending a national gambling commission that was never created.

Licensing

Operators need a general licence for each category (bets, raffles, contests and other games) and single licences for each specific game type, such as roulette, blackjack, poker or fixed-odds sports betting. General licences run for ten years. Applicants must meet technical certification, solvency and guarantee requirements and maintain a Spanish-domain website (“.es”). See gambling licensing models.

Online products — what is and isn’t legal

Online casino games, slots, sports and horse-race betting, poker and bingo are legal with DGOJ licences. National lotteries are reserved to the state operator SELAE and the disability organisation ONCE. Operators without a Spanish licence may not offer gambling to Spanish residents.

Taxation

Licensed operators pay the gambling activities tax set out in Ley 13/2011. For most online products, including casino games, poker and fixed-odds betting, it is 20% of gross gaming revenue, with different bases for some pool and pari-mutuel products. Licensees also pay an administrative fee to fund the regulator, and regions with their own online licences may add regional taxes. Players’ net winnings are subject to personal income tax; seek professional advice for your situation. See gambling taxation compared.

Advertising and marketing rules

Royal Decree 958/2020 on commercial communications introduced some of Europe’s strictest advertising rules. Gambling advertising on television, radio and on-demand services was largely restricted to between 1am and 5am, shirt sponsorship and stadium naming by gambling firms were banned, and welcome bonuses were restricted. In 2024 the Supreme Court annulled several provisions, including restrictions on welcome promotions, on the ground that such limits require a law rather than a decree. The broadcast time window remains in force. Proposals to put restrictions on a firmer legal footing have been under discussion since. See gambling advertising rules.

Player-protection requirements

Royal Decree 176/2023 on safer gambling environments requires operators to:

• identify players with intensive or risky gambling patterns;
• apply special protections to young adults aged 18 to 25;
• intervene with at-risk players;
• maintain responsible-gambling staff and policies.

All players must set deposit limits, which cannot be raised immediately, and must pass identity checks against national records before playing. RGIAJ checks are mandatory.

Enforcement against unlicensed operators

The DGOJ sanctions unlicensed operators and can request blocking of illegal websites and payment flows through the courts and intermediaries. Sanctions under Ley 13/2011 can include very large fines and disqualification. See spotting unlicensed operators.

What this means for players

Licensed Spanish operators use websites ending in “.es” and display the DGOJ’s “Juego Seguro” seal, which links to their licence details. They must verify your identity against official records, apply deposit limits from the start, and check the RGIAJ before you play. Sites without a Spanish licence are illegal and offer no access to Spanish complaint procedures. If you have a dispute with a licensed operator, complain to the operator first and then to the DGOJ’s consumer service. See how to file a complaint against a gambling operator.

Because land-based gambling is regional, rules on casinos, bingo halls and betting shops vary across Spain. If you want to exclude yourself from venues as well as online, confirm that your region’s register is connected to the RGIAJ, or register with your regional register too.

Regional dimension

The autonomous communities regulate and tax land-based gambling, and several, such as Catalonia, Madrid and the Basque Country, have their own gambling laws and registers. Regional rules on the distance between betting shops and schools, on opening hours and on machines in bars have been tightened in many regions in recent years. Operators active in both online and land-based channels therefore deal with the DGOJ and with regional authorities.

Recent developments and what to watch

• Advertising law: whether the government legislates to restore restrictions annulled in 2024.
• Loot boxes: consumer-protection proposals have included regulating loot boxes in video games.
• Young adults: application of RD 176/2023’s protections for players aged 18 to 25.

For practical help, see self-exclusion in Spain and Spanish support services.