Spain’s Council of Ministers has approved a royal decree establishing shared deposit limits across all licensed online gambling operators, replacing a system where each platform set its own cap independently.
What the decree changes
The measure, adopted on 23 June 2026 and driven by the Ministry of Social Rights, Consumer Affairs and the 2030 Agenda, sets three combined thresholds: €700 per day, €1,750 per week, and €3,300 per four-week period. Those limits apply across the entire licensed market rather than per operator.
Under the previous model, players could deposit up to each operator’s individual limit across multiple platforms simultaneously, effectively multiplying their access to the regulated market. The new rule closes that gap by aggregating deposits across all licensed sites.
Jdigital’s objections
Jdigital, the association representing licensed online operators in Spain, raised several concerns after the decree was published. The body cited Dirección General de Ordenación del Juego (DGOJ) data showing around 80% of online players in Spain use only one operator, arguing the measure targets a minority of the player base while creating systemic complexity for all licensees.
The association warned that a centralised, real-time system capable of aggregating deposit activity across all licensed operators and thousands of simultaneous players would be technically demanding and costly to build. Jdigital said any implementation problems during rollout should not result in sanctions against operators, and urged the regulator to set a realistic timetable and to publish evidence of necessity and proportionality before the rule comes into force.
Jdigital also questioned the competitive impact. It said the rule may concentrate activity among the largest operators, which have the technical resources to absorb compliance costs more easily, at the expense of smaller licensees.
Black market leakage concern
The association’s sharpest warning was on market leakage. Jdigital cited an EY report it commissioned, which found around one in four players in Spain access the illegal market. It argued that successive restrictions have made the regulated market less attractive relative to unlicensed alternatives, and that the new deposit limits risk pushing more players toward platforms outside DGOJ oversight.
The concern is not new to European regulators. Tighter responsible gambling rules in regulated markets have repeatedly triggered industry arguments that players migrate to unlicensed sites, though the causal relationship is contested and varies by market.
Research fund and wider context
The decree follows a DGOJ pledge to fund €950,000 in gambling harm research across six thematic areas. The two measures together reflect a government approach of tightening consumer protections while building an evidence base for further policy decisions.
Spain’s online gambling market generated €405 million in GGR in Q3 2025, according to DGOJ data, with casino products continuing to grow as a share of total revenue. Jdigital has said it remains open to cooperation with public bodies on proportionate solutions, but the decree is already in force following Council of Ministers adoption.
The next test is implementation. A real-time cross-operator deposit tracking system of this scale would be among the more complex compliance infrastructures in European regulated gambling, and the industry’s focus will shift quickly to whether DGOJ sets a phased rollout or a hard enforcement date.
Source: Ministry of Social Rights, Consumer Affairs and the 2030 Agenda
