Spain to Restrict Gambling Withdrawals Under New Payment Verification Rules
Spain is introducing new payment verification requirements for online gambling operators under Royal Decree 813/2026. Starting October 28, 2026, operators must confirm that payment methods belong to the registered account holders before processing transactions.
Existing customers will have six months to complete verification. During this period, they can continue making deposits and playing, but withdrawals will remain blocked until payment ownership is confirmed.
Operators must close accounts that remain unverified after the six-month deadline. Any remaining balances, including withheld winnings, must be returned in accordance with anti-money-laundering and counter-terrorist-financing requirements.
The new rules also require operators to keep records of payment verification checks and report customer activations and account closures to Spain’s Directorate General for Gambling Regulation (DGOJ).
Operators have six months to update their technical systems and procedures for payment verification, customer identification, and account management.
The decree also introduces requirements for remote identity verification and recognizes Spain’s National Identity Document (DNI) in both physical and digital formats.
Additional requirements covering electronic identification methods and related data retention will take effect 18 months after the decree’s publication on October 10, 2026.
