The Government of the Canary Islands is finalising a decree aimed at strengthening gambling oversight and preventing minors from accessing gambling areas.
New regulations will require gambling halls to implement admission systems that stop minors from entering.
Changes are also planned for the Register of Gambling Exclusion. The rules are being amended so that self-exclusion and third-party exclusion will be indefinite, although individuals may request cancellation after a minimum of six months.
As part of the legislative process, the Governing Council has agreed to submit the draft decree to Parliament.
The decree also introduces a single planning framework designed to reduce regulatory fragmentation, improve legal certainty and clearly define the conditions for market operators.
The framework will initially be in effect for five years. It may be extended for a further five years, depending on demographic, socioeconomic and geographic factors, based on recommendations from the Canary Islands Gambling Commission.
These measures build on previous reforms under Law 2/2025, which introduced restrictions on venue concentration, minimum distances from schools and additional child protection measures within the gambling sector.
The Spanish regulator, DGOJ, recently presented a Safe Gambling Programme for 2026 - 2030. Measures target youth protection, research on emerging technologies like AI and strengthened collaboration with treatment providers.
The DGOJ also published an updated version of its Player Verification Web Service (SVJ-WS), introducing technical refinements to how online gambling operators verify and monitor users, without making major structural changes.
The system continues to require operators to verify players’ identities, confirm legal age and ensure users are not listed in the General Registry of Gambling Prohibitions before account activation.
However, it now strengthens ongoing supervision, extending monitoring throughout the entire player lifecycle, not just at registration.
Online gambling in Spain continued to grow in 2025, with GGR reaching €1.7bn ($1.95bn), up 16.99% from the previous year
