Online gambling in Spain: regulation, licence and market guide

Is online gambling legal in Spain?

The Dirección General de Ordenación del Juego (DGOJ) grants general licences for betting, contests and other games (casino, poker, bingo, slots) valid for ten years, plus singular licences per game type. General licences are awarded only through public calls; the last closed in December 2018, so new entrants must wait for a call or acquire a licensed company. Operators pay 20% of GGR (10% if genuinely based in Ceuta or Melilla). Royal Decree 176/2023 imposed safer-gambling environments, and the Supreme Court annulled parts of the 2020 advertising decree in April 2024, prompting a 2026 consultation on amending the law. The regulated online market reached €1.70 billion GGR in 2025, up 17%, with casino now 52.5% of the total.

Regulated: Private operators can hold a local licence for online casino and/or betting.

Who regulates gambling in Spain?

• Dirección General de Ordenación del Juego (DGOJ) — National regulator within the Ministry of Social Rights, Consumer Affairs and 2030 Agenda: licenses online operators, runs the RGIAJ self-exclusion register, certifies technical systems, supervises advertising and sanctions illegal operators

Spain gambling licence: how it works

Operating online games nationally requires a general licence for the relevant category (Apuestas, Concursos or Otros juegos) and a singular licence for each game (sports betting, horse betting, slots, roulette, blackjack, poker, bingo and others). General licences last ten years, renewable; singular licences run one to five years, renewable. General licences are granted only under a public call published in the BOE: three have been held (2011–2012, 2014–2015 and 2017–2018), and interested parties may ask the DGOJ to open a new one 18 months after the last, which the regulator may refuse on public-interest grounds. Applicants must be EU or EEA companies with a permanent representative in Spain, pass technical certification of their gaming platform by an approved lab, connect to the DGOJ's internal control system and to the RGIAJ, lodge bank guarantees and operate under a .es domain. The DGOJ decides within six months. Land-based and regional online gambling are regulated by the seventeen autonomous communities.

What an applicant needs

• Company established in the EU or EEA with a permanent representative in Spain
• General licence obtained in a public call, plus singular licences per game type
• Technical certification of the platform and games by a DGOJ-approved laboratory
• Connection to the DGOJ internal control system and RGIAJ self-exclusion checks
• Bank guarantees per licence and separation of player funds
• Mandatory .es domain and Spanish-language terms
• Safer-gambling environment obligations under Royal Decree 176/2023

Gambling taxes in Spain

• Operators: Impuesto sobre Actividades de Juego at 20% of net gaming revenue (stakes minus prizes) for sports betting, casino games, poker, bingo and contests; 10% for operators with tax residence and genuine establishment in Ceuta or Melilla. Corporate income tax applies separately.
• Players: Net annual gambling winnings are taxable income in the player's personal income tax return, with losses in the same year deductible up to the amount of winnings.
• Also: State lotteries (SELAE and ONCE) are taxed under their own rules and large lottery prizes carry a special levy. Autonomous communities tax land-based and regional games.

Advertising, player protection, KYC and payments

Advertising

Royal Decree 958/2020 limits TV and radio advertising to 1 a.m. to 5 a.m., bans shirt and stadium sponsorship and restricts bonus messaging. On 2 April 2024 the Supreme Court annulled the provisions on promotions to new customers, use of celebrities, and general bans on advertising via internet services, video platforms and social networks for lack of legal basis; the time-slot and sponsorship rules stand. In May 2026 the ministry opened a public consultation on amending Law 13/2011 to restore those restrictions, regulate influencers and limit paid search advertising.

Responsible gaming

Royal Decree 176/2023 requires operators to classify players: intensive gamblers (net losses of €600 or more in three consecutive weeks, €200 for players under 25) receive specific messages and monthly summaries and cannot deposit with credit cards; at-risk players are excluded from promotions and VIP programs; players aged 18 to 25 get reinforced warnings; self-excluded and RGIAJ-registered players must have accounts suspended within 48 hours; near-miss messaging is banned; deposit limits are mandatory.

Identity and age verification

Age 18. Identity is verified against the national identity databases before play, with RGIAJ checks at registration and login and reinforced monitoring for young players.

Payments

Cards, bank transfer, Bizum and e-wallets from regulated payment institutions; deposits must come from instruments in the player's name, and intensive or at-risk players may not use credit cards. Licensed operators do not accept cryptoassets. The DGOJ blocks and fines unlicensed sites.

Notable restrictions

• General licences only through public calls; none held since 2018
• Mandatory .es domain and DGOJ control-system connection
• TV and radio advertising limited to 1 a.m. to 5 a.m.; no shirt or stadium sponsorship
• Credit card deposits barred for intensive and at-risk players
• Lotteries reserved to SELAE and ONCE
• Regional (autonomous community) licences needed for land-based gambling

Spain iGaming market: size, players and payments

DGOJ annual report for 2025: national online GGR of €1,700.55 million (+16.99%), split into casino €893 million (52.5%, slots 69% of casino), betting €698 million (41%), poker €95 million and bingo €14 million; deposits reached €4.32 billion and marketing spend €664 million.

2.16 million active players in 2025 (+8.3%) and an average of 1.73 million active accounts per month (DGOJ).

Play is mobile-led; operators report most sessions through apps and mobile web, and Bizum has become a standard deposit method.

The DGOJ counted 136 active general licences at the end of 2023 across several dozen operators, led by bet365, Codere, Sportium, Betfair, 888/William Hill, Luckia and Casumo; consolidation and licence acquisitions are the main entry route while no call is open.

Timeline: how Spain got here

1. 2011-05Law 13/2011 creates the national online gambling framework and the DGOJ
2. 2012-06First general and singular licences issued; regulated market opens
3. 2018-12Third and most recent general licence call closes
4. 2020-11Royal Decree 958/2020 imposes strict advertising rules, phased in through 2021
5. 2023-03Royal Decree 176/2023 on safer gambling environments adopted
6. 2024-04Supreme Court annuls parts of the advertising decree for lack of legal basis
7. 2026-03DGOJ reports 2025 online GGR of €1.70 billion, up 17%
8. 2026-05Public consultation opens on amending Law 13/2011 (advertising, influencers, illegal gambling)

Outlook

The draft law to amend Law 13/2011, consulted until 22 June 2026, would give statutory footing to the advertising limits the Supreme Court struck down, regulate influencers and acquisition promotions, and add tools against illegal operators; its parliamentary timetable was not fixed as of September 2026. No general licence call was scheduled, so entry remains through acquisitions or a future call. Expect continued DGOJ enforcement under Royal Decree 176/2023 and regional debates on land-based restrictions.

Launching in Spain with GameBridge

Turnkey (your licence, our platform). Spanish general and singular licences belong to the operator and GameBridge holds none, so a Spanish brand runs on GameBridge under the operator's licences; because no call is open, this usually means an existing licensee or an acquired licensed company.

A Spanish deployment uses Spanish as the site language, a euro wallet, Bizum and card rails on request and geo-controls that admit Spanish residents after identity verification. The compliance layer implements the Royal Decree 176/2023 player categories: intensive and at-risk detection, monthly activity summaries, credit card blocking for flagged players, exclusion from promotions and VIP tiers, RGIAJ checks and the 48-hour suspension rule. Bonus and CRM tools follow the advertising decree as it stands, and the certification package supports DGOJ-approved lab testing of every game version under a .es domain.

• Spanish site language, euro wallet and Bizum on request
• Player categorization with intensive and at-risk workflows
• RGIAJ checks and 48-hour suspension automation
• Credit card blocking for flagged players
• Monthly activity summaries and near-miss message suppression
• Certification package for DGOJ-approved laboratory testing

Spanish lobbies are slot-led with strong live roulette and LaLiga betting; the aggregated catalog is curated to studios with Spanish-certified versions, GameBridge Studios exclusives ship with the certification package and the sportsbook module covers Spanish and European football.

Frequently asked questions

Sources and review

Reviewed against the sources below on 11 September 2026. Regulation changes; confirm the current position with local counsel before launch.

• Licencias de juego — Dirección General de Ordenación del Juego, accessed 2026-09-11
• Licencias generales de juego: convocatorias de otorgamiento, extinciones y renuncias — Dirección General de Ordenación del Juego, accessed 2026-09-11
• Ley 13/2011, de 27 de mayo, de regulación del juego (texto consolidado) — Ministerio de Hacienda, accessed 2026-09-11
• Real Decreto 176/2023, de 14 de marzo, por el que se desarrollan entornos más seguros de juego — Boletín Oficial del Estado, accessed 2026-09-11
• Sentencia de 2 de abril de 2024 del Tribunal Supremo sobre el Real Decreto 958/2020 — Boletín Oficial del Estado, accessed 2026-09-11
• Consumo abre a consulta pública la modificación de la Ley de Regulación del Juego — Ministerio de Derechos Sociales, Consumo y Agenda 2030, accessed 2026-09-11
• La DGOJ eleva el GGR del juego online en España a 1.700,55 millones en 2025 — Infoplay, accessed 2026-09-11

Regulatory summaries are provided for orientation only and are not legal advice. Licensing requirements change; we validate them with you during scoping.