Spanish Gambling provisions introduce a system of joint deposit limits per player

The Spanish Government has published today on the Spanish Official Gazette the Royal Decree 520/2026 modifying Royal Decree 1614/2011 (available herein)

The most relevant change refers to the establishment of a system of joint deposit limits per player.

The current model sets limits on the deposits each player can make independently per operator. In other words, until now, each player could have a limit on each of the gaming accounts they hold with each operator, meaning that the total volume of deposits a participant can make ultimately depends on the number of operators with which they participate and with which they maintain an open gaming account.

Royal Decree 520/2026 establishes a system of deposit limits that takes into consideration all deposits made by a participant across each of the operators with which they hold an open account, such that said participant may not exceed the established deposit limit in a given time period.

The new limits are EUR700 for the daily amount, EUR1,750 for the weekly amount and EUR3,300 for the four-week period amount.

The new model, called the “system of joint deposit limits per player”, requires licensed gambling operators to implement the necessary technical means to connect their deposit control and limit management systems to the system of joint deposit limits per player of the DGOJ, as well as to take into account the information derived therefrom prior to the possible acceptance of deposits into the accounts of participants registered on their gambling platforms. In this regard, gambling operators may not accept deposits made by a participant that, according to the information provided by the system of joint deposit limits per player, exceed the established limits, and must inform the participant of such circumstance.

The system shall allow each participant to increase or modify the financial limits for all their deposits - or even the suppression of any financial limits - as long as the process and timeframes established in the regulation are met.

This royal decree shall enter into force on March 25, 2027. However, six months before the entry into force of the same the DGOJ shall make available to operators a trial version of the system. During this period, both gambling operators and the regulatory authority shall carry out all actions necessary for the proper functioning of the system, as well as for its adequate knowledge by registered participants.

Further to the above, some additional changes are also introduced referring to the license guarantees to eliminate the possibility to establish a mortgage on real estate located in Spain as a form of guarantee, and increasing the minimum amount for such guarantees from one million to one million three hundred thousand euros.

This is a major change that will pose a challenge for the gambling industry in Spain.