Spain to require payment verification for online gambling
Online casino and sportsbook customers in Spain will be required to prove that their payment methods belong to them under new anti-money laundering regulations taking effect on October 28.
The changes will prevent customers from withdrawing gambling winnings until their payment details have been verified against their registered gambling account.
The requirements were introduced through Royal Decree 813/2026, which amends Spain’s existing financial crime prevention regulations.
Under the new rules, licensed gambling operators must establish that the person registered as the owner of a gambling account is also the holder of the payment method used for deposits and withdrawals.
The requirement applies to online casinos, betting sites and other authorised remote gambling services, while operators must also maintain records demonstrating that the necessary verification checks have been completed.
Existing customers will receive a six-month transition period to complete the new verification requirements, with customers able to continue depositing money and gambling using their existing payment methods.
However, withdrawals of winnings will be restricted until the operator has verified payment ownership.
Customers who fail to complete the process before the transition period expires face the closure of their gambling accounts.
Operators will be required to return outstanding account balances, including winnings that could not previously be withdrawn, subject to applicable anti-money laundering requirements.
The regulations will require Spanish gambling businesses to update their payment processing systems, customer identification procedures and account management controls.
The changes are intended to prevent gambling accounts from being used to move funds through payment methods belonging to other individuals.
They also strengthen the connection between gambling customer verification and Spain’s wider financial crime prevention framework.
Additional provisions introduce updated standards for remote identity verification.
Spain’s National Identity Document will be recognised in both physical and digital formats, while certain electronic identification and recordkeeping requirements will be introduced over a longer implementation period.
The new rules arrive as Spain’s gambling regulator, the Directorate General for Gambling Regulation (DGOJ), continues developing additional player protection measures.
On October 13, the DGOJ opened another public consultation on a proposed mechanism for identifying potentially harmful gambling behaviour, with feedback being taken until October 22
Spain operates a nationally regulated online gambling market in which licensed operators can offer sports betting, online casino games and poker.
