Spain will require verification of card ownership for gambling
In Spain, it will no longer be enough to have a gaming account in one's own name; the card used for deposits will also have to be in one's own name. Royal Decree 813/2026 was published on October 8 in the Official State Gazette and requires online gaming operators to verify that the person listed as the holder of the payment method used for deposits and withdrawals is the same person who opened the the account, and it does so based on Article 21 of the Regulation of Law 10/2010, which had approved Royal Decree 304/2014.
The scope of the measure is not responsible gambling but anti-money laundering. The official text explains that the objective is to tighten identification when the customer is not present and to correct unintended effects produced by previous regulations, within a broader review of the regime that prevents money laundering and the financing of terrorism.
The deadlines run in two phases. The rule has been in effect since October 28, twenty days after its publication, and for those who already had an account open on a platform before that date, the first transitional provision opens a six-month window to make the changes that allow ownership verification. Operators have the same half-year to adjust their technical gaming systems.
During this transition, the player can continue to operate, though not entirely. They will be able to continue depositing with any payment method already listed in their account and participate in the games offered by the operator, but they will not be able to withdraw any winnings until the ownership verification is complete.
If the deadline expires without verification, the relationship ends. The operator must unilaterally terminate the contract, inform the Directorate General for the Regulation of Gambling (DGOJ), and return existing balances, including any unpaid winnings during the adaptation period, all without prejudice to the obligations imposed by the anti-money laundering regime.
The most effective part of the rule is where it places the cost of non-compliance. By blocking the withdrawal of winnings until ownership is accredited, the measure is enforced by friction rather than inspection, because the player who wants to collect is the one who has to resolve the process, not the regulator who would have to audit account by account. The practical effect is that the use of third-party payment methods is closed off, which is how underage gambling with an adult's card and bonus abuse with multiple accounts often occur. It is also the Spanish regulator's third move in a week, after the agreement with Red.es to track .es domains and the resolution that replaces the responsible gambling notice with three warnings showing loss figures, three different fronts pointing to the same place.
Tags: Royal Decree 813/2026, online gambling in Spain, anti-money laundering, DGOJ