Regulated
The legal framework for gaming at State level, special designed for online gambling – operation via electronic, computerised, telematic and interactive means, in which “in person” means are of an accessory nature-, is contained under Law 13/2011 of 27 May, on the regulation of gambling at State level.

The mentioned Law applies for B2B and B2C operators.

The land-based gambling is regulated by the Autonomous Regions, which are coordinated by DGOJ.

Furthermore, the Autonomous Regions and the Government are coordinated through ‘Consejo de Politicas de Juego’ (CPJ).

 The DGOJ (‘Dirección General de Ordenación del Juego’) – it is a body of the Ministry of Consumer Affairs, under the authority of the General Secretariat for Consumer Affairs and Gambling.

Therefore, DGOJ, it is the body in charge as gambling regulator in Spain. Among its duties are: (i) regulation, (ii) licencing, (iii) supervision, (iv) coordination, (v) control and, where appropriate, (vi) sanctioning of gambling activities at state level.

 On 05/05/2020 Mikel Arana was appointed, proposed by the head of Consumer Affairs (Alberto Garzón), as responsible of DGOJ.

Licences are divided into general licences and specific licences (depending on the type of game the operator wants to offer). Licenses are granted through a tender process.

 The National Lottery, in general terms, is reserved for the operators designated by law, these operators are the ‘Sociedad Estatal de Loterías y Apuestas del Estado (S.M.E.)’ and ‘Organización Nacional de Ciegos Españoles (ONCE)’. Notwithstanding the authorisations that DGOJ may grant.

The scope of application of Law 13/2011:

• Gaming activities associated to lotteries, betting and any other which is understood to mean any activity involving risking sums of money or items of economic value in whatever form. Regardless of whether the level of skill of the players is decisive in the results or they depend wholly or fundamentally on luck
• Raffles and contests in which participation is carried out by means of a monetary consideration
• Games played occasionally
• Cross-border gaming activities

The following are excluded from the scope of application:

• Games or contests played purely for leisure, as a hobby or for recreational purposes, as long as they do not produce economically assessable transfers
• Gaming activities carried out via electronic, computerised, telematic or interactive means not included within the scope of the State
• Random combinations with advertising or promotional aims, notwithstanding what is established above

As a general principle, Law 13/2011 states that any form of unregulated gambling shall be considered as prohibited.

It is the responsibility of the Ministry of Economy and Finance to establish, by Ministerial Order, the basic regulations for the development of each game.

Operators can request the regulation of a game which is not yet regulated to DGOJ which may reject or approve the proposal.

Market size
The online gambling market in Spain is measured annual and published in DGOJ’s website. The last report analyses the data of the year 2022.

The Gross Gaming Revenue (GGR) is a measure used in the gambling market.  It reflects the difference between the amount of money players wager minus the amount they win.

• The EUR 1,236.75 million of GGR are distributed in EUR 491.80 million in Betting (39.77%)
• EUR 14.37 million in Bingo (1.16%); EUR 624.76 million in Casino (50.52%)
• EUR 0.48 million in Contests (0.04%) and EUR 115.34 million in Poker (8.52%)
• The betting segment had a year over year growth of 36.57%. The growth is due to in-played sports betting, which increased by 48.73%, and pre-match betting increased 15.30%. Other fixed-odds  betting also increased by 191.88% in 2023
• The GGR of 2023 was EUR 1,236.75 million, up to 28.38% year over year

Overall, the evolution of gambling data in Spain shows that gambling activity has been growing in a stable manner. This gives more confidence in the market.

For more information, please visit the General Directorate for the Regulation of Gambling website.

Competitive landscape
There are 78 operators licensed with DGOJ. For more information, please see the list of licensed operators here.

 Although, land-based gambling is not regulated by DGOJ, further information about land-based gambling can be requested from the different bodies of the autonomous communities.

Localisation
Payment methods
DGOJ publishes annually the ‘report on the online gambler’. During the year 2023 (visit the website), the common means of payment used to deposits were credit card (76.01%) followed by the electronic purse (12.71%).

Marketing
Operators are allowed to advertise their services subject to authorisation, which should be granted with their licence by the DGOJ.

You can check which operators are authorised to carry out advertising activities here.

Royal Decree 958/2020 of 3 November on commercial communications for gambling activities, introduced new rules for the regulation of gambling operators’ advertising, e.g., time slots where advertising is prohibited; appearance in commercial communications of persons or characters of public relevance or notoriety, whether real or fictional, is prohibited, among others.

May be further restricted by the new Royal Decree that will come into force next year.

Top Key Attractions and Challenges
Attractions

• Market which has potential and not saturated, as per the number of active operators.
• No need to be based in Spain.
• The general and singular licensing process covers a very wide range of products that operators can offer.
• Regulated, but without ‘burdening’ the sector.

Challenges

• Relatively low mandatory deposit limits imposed on daily / weekly/ monthly basis
• Regulation to be strengthened in the coming years, especially from the perspective of responsible gambling. There is only one procedural for licences (B2B and B2C)
• Low market and regulatory awareness of the gaming sector compared to other countries.
• Low awareness of Operators, even with Spanish licence, on regulation and requirements.
• Negative view of gambling within Spanish culture.