The Spanish Government has given the green light, in the Council of Ministers, to a royal decree that establishes combined deposit limits per player at online betting companies. From now on, a maximum of 700 euros per day may be deposited.
The regulation, driven by the Ministry of Social Rights, Consumer Affairs and the 2030 Agenda, represents a significant change from the legislation in force until now, under which limits were set independently by each operator. This allowed a user to open multiple accounts and place bets on various platforms.
With the new measure, limits will be calculated globally for each person, regardless of the number of platforms on which the user is active, which will prevent evasion of the set deposit caps.
Specifically, the new framework sets combined deposit limits of 700 euros per day, 1,750 euros per week, and 3,300 euros over a four-week period. These limits can be voluntarily modified or removed to adapt them to each person’s individual gaming preferences and control needs. Management will be carried out through a specific procedure with guarantees of information regarding the risks associated with this activity.
The aim of the regulation is to “place the protection of players at the center of gambling regulation” and to promote a “safer environment” for people who gamble online, according to the Consumer Affairs Ministry.
The Directorate General for the Regulation of Gambling (DGOJ) will be in charge of managing this new deposit limit and developing the technological tool capable of coordinating the information needed to verify compliance with the limits in real time.
Likewise, the regulation updates certain technical aspects of the rules and strengthens the information that operators must make available to users regarding safe gambling.
Industry backlash
The announcement generated strong pushback from the industry, which warned of the rise in illegal activity as a result of the restrictions on the activity. Jdigital, the association representing licensed online gambling operators in Spain, believes that restrictions on legal gambling, combined with the absence of initiatives that foster the competitiveness and appeal of the regulated offering, will end up pushing users toward illegal operators.
“The accumulation of restrictions may continue to favor the shift of part of consumers toward unlicensed, unauthorized operators, outside the oversight and protection mechanisms that characterize the regulated environment,” the association stated. As a result, the safety and control objectives that the regulation aims to strengthen would be compromised.
In addition, Jdigital has questioned the practical effectiveness of the system, noting that it “not only involves significant operational and technological costs for both the Administration and operators, but may also generate inefficiencies or deterrent effects that hinder the achievement of the intended objectives.”
In this regard, the association added that “it is essential for any new regulatory obligation to be designed with the real needs and challenges of the industry in mind, and to help maintain a safe, dynamic, and reliable online gambling market.”