The Directorate General for the Regulation of Gambling in Spain (DGOJ) has unveiled new plans to implement player protection measures and centralized monitoring that will apply to online gambling licenses in the country.
The update coincides with the renewal of the agency’s certification under the National Security Scheme (ENS), Spain’s central information system for government services and agencies.
This renewal is required for the regulator to test a key project of the 2023 Royal Decree on Gambling Environments – the introduction of a Central Monitoring System, which will track player activity across all Spanish online casinos and betting companies.
Since 2022, Spanish licensees have been required to set their own deposit limits independently – no more than €600 per day. The new centralized system will allow DGOJ to verify each customer deposit made with operators.
According to the draft plan, the default limits will be:
- €600 per day
- €1,500 per week
- €3,000 per month
As reported by SBC Noticias, “the new monitoring system will require verification of each deposit to ensure the player remains within the established limits.”
The system has not yet been tested, but DGOJ is confident that it will provide “individual mechanisms” for players to reduce their own limits. Operators will also be required to remind customers each time they log in about their right to set deposit and playing time limits.
At the same time, a new Federal Self-Exclusion System will be launched for players showing signs of gambling addiction. It is designed as an early intervention tool and to provide treatment support across all regions of Spain.
DGOJ also plans to introduce an artificial intelligence algorithm that will monitor 60 variable indicators of gambling addiction risk. This is considered the flagship project of the Royal Decree – AI will detect real-time patterns of problematic behavior and allow operators to intervene early.
At the Gaming in Spain conference in June, DGOJ representatives stated that the project is being built on XGBoost machine learning algorithms. In September, the regulator launched a public consultation for IT, gaming, and technology companies to gather input on data and tools needed to develop the algorithm.
DGOJ believes that this project, supported by Spain’s Ministry of Consumer Affairs, will make the country the first European regulator to apply AI to interventions in gambling harm cases.
The Ministry of Consumer Affairs maintains that the Royal Decree gives Spain a mandate for the strictest oversight of gambling licenses in Europe. However, so far, DGOJ has not yet delivered on any of the technical projects outlined in the decree.
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