The Spanish government has approved a new joint deposit framework designed to prevent players from circumventing limits by holding accounts with multiple operators.
The measure was adopted by royal decree at the Council of Ministers on 23 June 2026, marking another significant step in Spain’s ongoing regulatory overhaul of gambling.
Under the new framework, players face a daily deposit ceiling of €700, a weekly limit of €1,750, and a four-week cap of €3,300 across all licensed operators combined.
These figures represent a modest increase on the previous per-operator limits of €600 daily, €1,500 weekly, and €3,000 monthly, but crucially apply across the entire regulated market rather than per platform.
The Ministry of Social Rights, Consumer Affairs and the 2030 Agenda was the driving force behind the legislation, pushing the measure through as part of a broader consumer protection agenda.
The Directorate-General for Gambling Regulation, known as the DGOJ, will oversee the single deposit control system and is responsible for developing the technical tools required to track player deposits across all licensed operators.
The DGOJ has cited its own data showing that 31% of bettors in Spain place wagers across multiple operators, arguing that this figure “underscores the need to incorporate new preventative and protective tools.”
Spain is not the first European country to introduce cross-provider deposit limits, with Germany having already implemented a similar system, though Germany’s cap of €1,000 per month sits considerably lower than Spain’s new thresholds.
Industry body JDigital, which represents licensed online gambling operators in Spain, responded to the announcement by stating it viewed the move with “concern.”
JDigital argued that the regulator has consistently “prioritised introducing restrictions on the legal market without accompanying measures to strengthen the competitiveness and attractiveness of regulated operators.”
The association also challenged the proportionality of the new rules, pointing to DGOJ data it says indicates around 80% of online gamblers in Spain only use a single operator.
If only 20% of the market is affected by cross-operator deposit behaviour, JDigital contends that the new restrictions do not represent a measured or balanced regulatory response.
The tension between operator concerns and regulator priorities reflects a wider debate across European gambling markets about how best to protect consumers without driving players toward unlicensed alternatives.
