Spain’s Directorate General for the Regulation of Gambling (DGOJ) has launched its Safe Gambling Programme 2026–2030, a five-year consumer protection strategy that replaces the former Responsible Gambling initiative covering 2019 to 2022. The plan places particular emphasis on assessing the influence of social media marketing on younger gamblers and developing standardised tools for detecting risky online gambling behaviour.
The programme was presented at a meeting of the Advisory Council on Safe Gambling held at DGOJ headquarters in Madrid.
Structure and Scope
The Safe Gambling Programme is built around three main priorities, supported by six overarching objectives and 24 specific measures. Those measures will be determined in consultation with the DGOJ’s advisory body, the Consejo Asesor, making the plan adaptable across its five-year lifespan rather than fixed at launch.
To build an evidence base ahead of the programme, the DGOJ opened a €1 million research grant scheme in May 2025. The regulator cited several significant market developments since 2019 as drivers for the reassessment, including the continued concentration of revenues among a small group of major operators and a notable increase in online gambling participation among those aged 18 to 25.
Rapid digital innovation was also flagged as a factor, with the DGOJ warning that social media, video games and artificial intelligence had amplified industry influence over marketing strategies and product design in ways not accounted for under the previous programme.
Data, Prevention and Player Protection
Among the specific commitments, the DGOJ will study the influence of social media on gambling patterns and develop a standardised mechanism for detecting risky online gambling behaviour, as mandated by the 2023 Real Decreto.
The regulator aims to compile a comprehensive catalogue of international and regional gambling policies and investigate the structural features of games that may contribute to addictive behaviours. It will produce public guidance on risky behaviours, including a directory of treatment and support services, and will reassess the player self-assessment tool currently used for deposit and limit changes.
Collaboration with treatment providers will be strengthened, and gambling monitoring is to be integrated with national addiction frameworks including EDADES, ESTUDES and the Plan Nacional sobre Drogas. The DGOJ also plans communication campaigns and regular thematic conferences on topics such as artificial intelligence and loot boxes in video games.
Vulnerable populations — including young players, intensive gamers and individuals previously excluded from gambling — are identified as priority targets for awareness-raising. The initiative also promotes use of existing consumer protection tools: the national exclusion register (RGIAJ), the Phishing Alert service and the Protocol for Victims of Identity Misuse (PACS).
Regulatory Context
The programme arrives after a period of tightening regulation in Spain. Royal Decree 958/2020 and Royal Decree 176/2023 introduced stricter controls on advertising, session and payment limits, and account suspension protocols. Spain last year enforced a requirement for online gambling platforms to display addiction warnings similar in tone to those used in tobacco regulation, a move that drew pushback from the industry trade body, which stated it had received no prior communication about the change.
The Safe Gambling Programme commits to evaluating the impact of both the 2020 and 2023 royal decrees and their alignment with EU directives and international regulatory frameworks.
Separately, Spain’s Secretary General for Consumer Affairs and Gambling, Andrés Barragán, confirmed earlier this year that the government intends to introduce cross-operator betting limits and further advertising restrictions in 2026, citing structural gaps in the existing player protection framework. The Safe Gambling Programme 2026–2030 sits alongside those planned legislative changes as part of a broader regulatory push.
The DGOJ has not published a timeline for when the 24 specific measures will be finalised with the Consejo Asesor.
Source: iGB
