Spain’s gambling regulator, the DGOJ, has convened the latest plenary meeting of the National Commission to Combat the Manipulation of Sports Competitions and Fraud in Betting (CONFAD). The meeting underlined the country’s ongoing commitment to protecting sports integrity and combating betting-related fraud.
CONFAD, the main national coordination forum on sports integrity, brings together public administrations, law enforcement agencies, sports organisations and representatives of the gambling sector.
One of the key agenda items was the presentation of an analysis on the participation of minors in online gambling activities, delivered by Cecilia Pastor, Deputy Director General of Inspection at the DGOJ. She spoke about access to gambling by minors including the prevention and control measures being implemented to prevent it.
Eugenio Álvarez, Deputy Director General for Regulation at the DGOJ, provided an update on Spain's participation in the Global Betting Market Investigation Service (SIGMA). The initiative supports cooperation on fraud prevention and detection, with a particular focus on combating match-fixing, protecting sports integrity and maintaining confidence in betting markets.
During the meeting, the evolution of alerts recorded between 2024 and 2025 within the framework of the SIGMA was also presented, along with several success stories resulting from the actions carried out.
The DGOJ also shared information on monitoring carried out in compliance with the Macolin Convention of the Council of Europe, the main international instrument for combating the manipulation of sports competitions. In this context, trends detected in betting markets during 2025 were analysed using work carried out by the Copenhagen Group.
The meeting featured case studies from Spain’s National Police and Civil Guard, demonstrating successful investigations into betting-related fraud and sports corruption. Representatives from the Higher Sports Council and the Royal Spanish Football Federation also presented integrity initiatives and preventative measures aimed at protecting competitions from manipulation.
Spain’s Ministry of Social Rights, Consumer Affairs and Agenda 2030, through the regulator DGOJ, recently launched a public consultation on amendments to the Gambling Regulation Law.
The Consumer Affairs Ministry aims to regulate the use of celebrities and influencers in gambling advertising, customer acquisition promotions, as well as organic gambling advertising on search engines.
In April, the Spanish Parliamentary Committee approved three proposals aimed at strengthening the prevention, education and treatment of gambling addiction, with a particular focus on youth aged 14 to 18
