Spain’s Ministry of Consumer Affairs has instructed the Directorate General for the Regulation of Gambling (DGOJ) to open a public consultation on banning celebrities and influencers from gambling advertising, with the comment period running until 22 June 2026.
The proposal covers restrictions across three areas: celebrity and influencer use in gambling promotions and customer acquisition campaigns; bonus offer advertising; and the visibility of gambling operator pages in organic search engine results, which would be limited to appearing only when users are actively searching for betting or gambling-related terms.
The announcement was made on 18 May. Stakeholders, players, and organisations with links to gambling are invited to submit their views to the DGOJ before the deadline.
Filling the Regulatory Vacuum
The consultation is a direct response to a regulatory gap left by Spain’s Supreme Court. In April 2024, the Court issued Ruling 527/2024, which partially overturned Royal Decree 958/2020 — the framework that had originally banned celebrity and influencer endorsements in gambling advertising when it came into force between November 2020 and August 2021. That decision removed key restrictions, and the DGOJ has since attempted to reinstate equivalent measures through the current reform process.
The DGOJ said the overarching objective is to modernise Spain’s 15-year-old gambling law and better adapt it to the growth of online gambling and digital channels.
“The reforms aim to strengthen controls, improve prevention, and provide more tools to combat illegal gambling. This will allow the law to better adapt to the digital environment, especially the growth of online gambling. Current regulations have been in effect for 15 years. The reform aims not only to update the legislation but also to broaden consumer protection.” — DGOJ
Algorithm Requirement and Advertising Warnings
The advertising consultation runs in parallel with two additional measures the Ministry is putting in place.
The first is a mandatory problem gambling detection algorithm required across all licensed operators. The Ministry estimates the system will improve detection rates by 10%, using player behaviour data to identify risk indicators. The rollout timeline has not been confirmed.
The second is a requirement for responsible gambling messages in all gambling advertisements. Spain introduced tobacco-style warning labels for online gambling last year, replacing generic messaging with specific, data-driven statements about the mathematical probability of losing. The new measure extends that approach to paid media. One figure cited by the DGOJ is a 75% probability of losing money.
These measures sit within the DGOJ’s Safe Gambling Programme 2026–2030, a national strategy covering player protection, advertising oversight, and new identity verification requirements for operators.
Industry Friction
The consultation is taking place against a backdrop of strained relations between the DGOJ and industry. The Spanish industry association JDigital has called for more effective dialogue with the regulator, with the association’s public positioning in late 2025 focused on restoring communication channels and reframing policy debate around protecting consumers while keeping licensed operators competitive against illegal sites.
Patricia Lalanda Ordóñez, commenting on the DGOJ’s approach, said the regulator “has not opened any meaningful dialogue with the industry” and that its objective “appears to be reinstating the annulled restrictions without negotiation.”
The enforcement backdrop is significant. During 2025, the DGOJ issued 58 sanctions and nearly €111m in fines across the online betting and gambling sector. Six of those were classified as very serious sanctions against unlicensed foreign operators, each carrying a €5m fine and website blocking order. That enforcement posture reflects a broader pattern visible across European markets, where regulators have moved from issuing warnings to imposing material financial penalties.
The DGOJ’s wider regulatory reform agenda — including the mandatory supplier register carrying penalties between €100,000 and €1m for unlicensed suppliers, and a prohibition on anonymous payment methods — is being tracked by European counterparts managing cross-border oversight. How the final rules on influencer and celebrity advertising are shaped after the consultation will be watched closely in markets that have faced similar policy debates.
The consultation closes on 22 June 2026. Based on submissions received, the Spanish government will decide whether to advance the proposed advertising reforms through the legislative process.
Source: Spain’s Ministry of Consumer Affairs / DGOJ
