Spain requires verification of payment ownership for online gambling
Existing players must verify payment methods by 28 April 2027 or face account closure.
Key Takeaways
- Royal Decree 813/2026 took effect on 28 October 2026 and requires payment ownership verification.
- Existing customers must complete verification by 28 April 2027 or face account closure reported to the DGOJ.
- Operators must return remaining balances after closure subject to anti-money laundering and counter-terrorist financing obligations.
- Operators have six months to adapt technical systems to implement the checks.
Existing online gambling customers in Spain must verify ownership of their payment methods before withdrawing winnings under rules that took effect on 28 October 2026. Players have until 28 April 2027 to complete the checks or their accounts must be closed. Operators may continue to allow play and deposits with established payment methods during the transition, but withdrawals are blocked until verification is complete.
What the decree requires
Royal Decree 813/2026, published by the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Business on 8 October 2026, obliges state-licensed online gambling operators to confirm that the holder of a gaming account is the same person who holds the payment method used for deposits and withdrawals. New accounts must meet the requirement immediately. Existing customers have the transitional window that ends on 28 April 2027.
Operators must close accounts that remain unverified after the deadline and report those closures to the Dirección General de Ordenación del Juego (DGOJ). Account closure does not automatically forfeit funds. Operators must return the remaining balance, including withheld winnings, subject to applicable anti-money laundering and counter-terrorist financing obligations.
The decree also gives operators six months to adapt their technical systems to implement the checks.
Operational impact and industry response
Industry association Jdigital has requested an interpretive guide to clarify implementation and provide legal certainty. The practical verification task extends beyond matching identity documents. Operators must establish ownership of cards, bank accounts and e-wallets customers use to move money into and out of gambling accounts. A customer using a card registered solely to a partner or relative will need a payment method in their own name.
Reviewing existing accounts may increase support requests, particularly when customers discover the restriction while trying to collect winnings. Operators must handle those enquiries alongside their ongoing checks for new customers.
Context and related measures
The payment-ownership requirement forms part of amendments to 11 financial-sector royal decrees and sits alongside other planned measures. According to EFE, complaints involving gambling identity impersonation rose 12% in 2025 to 8,675 cases. A separate national deposit-limits system expected in March 2027 would apply a €700 daily deposit ceiling across operators rather than per account, creating a near-term compliance overlap as firms prepare both controls.
Regulated operators will need to reconcile the April 2027 verification deadline with the expected March 2027 deposit-limit rollout, and to adapt systems within the six-month technical window mandated by the decree. The DGOJ remains the authority to receive closure reports and oversee compliance.State-licensed online gambling operators may also review customer flows against centralized deposit controls in payments operations.[deposit limits](/payments]
Frequently Asked Questions
When did Spain's payment ownership checks take effect?
The checks took effect on 28 October 2026 under Royal Decree 813/2026, published on 8 October 2026 by the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Business.
What is the deadline for existing customers to verify payment methods?
Existing customers must complete verification by 28 April 2027 or the operator must close and report the account to the Dirección General de Ordenación del Juego (DGOJ).
Can customers still deposit while awaiting verification?
Customers can continue to play and deposit using established payment methods during the transition, but they cannot withdraw winnings until their payment-method ownership is verified.
What happens to account funds if an account is closed for non-verification?
Closure does not automatically forfeit funds; operators must return the remaining balance, including withheld winnings, subject to applicable anti-money laundering and counter-terrorist financing obligations.
How does this requirement relate to other upcoming Spanish measures?
The verification deadline precedes an expected March 2027 national deposit-limits system that would apply a €700 daily deposit ceiling across operators, creating concurrent compliance tasks for operators.
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About the author
Eleanor Whitfield
Regulatory Affairs Correspondent
Eleanor Whitfield tracks gambling legislation, licensing decisions, and regulator enforcement across key markets — from the UKGC, MGA, and Germany's GGL to Spain's DGOJ and the state-by-state map in the Americas. The reporting answers three questions precisely: what changed, where, and who it affects, with jurisdictions, effective dates, and penalty figures named exactly as published. Compliance officers and operators read Eleanor Whitfield to know which rulebook moved before their next board meeting.
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