A Spain gambling study published in June 2025 has highlighted the impact of stricter regulation of online gambling platforms.
The authors of the paper, published in Harm Reduction Journal, are Gema Aonso-Diego, Ángel García-Pérez and Andrea Krotter.
Researchers looked at a recent Spanish law, Royal Decree 958/2020, that implemented some of the strongest gambling consumer protections in all of Europe. The new regulations applied to licensed operators.
The new Spanish online gambling rules under the Royal Decree:
- Restrictions on advertising, with radio, television, and video platforms (e.g., YouTube) limited to the hours between 1 a.m. and 5 a.m.
- Prohibition on the use of celebrities in “commercial communications”
- Prohibition on gambling industry sponsorship of sports teams
- Ban on promotions aimed at attracting new customers
- Requirement that gambling operators identify at-risk gamblers and implement and promote self-exclusion systems
- Gambler deposit limits of €600 per day, €1,500 per week, and €3,000 per month.
Those new rules “came into force progressively” from November 2020 until August 2021.
However, in April 2024, the Spanish Supreme Court struck down some of the new regulations related to advertising.
Operators could again legally use celebrities to promote gambling. They could also offer risky promotions to lure in new users and advertise on social media at any time.
Other core components of the new law, such as deposit limits, remained in effect.
Some of the Spanish online gambling rules are similar to those proposed SAFE Bet Act. The act is a piece of U.S. legislation aimed at establishing federal guardrails on the industry. So, the Spain gambling study is useful for U.S. policymakers.
Examining Spain’s Online Gambling Market
Using online gambling data from Spain’s Directorate General for Regulation of Gambling, researchers examined the effect of the new regulations on gambling behavior through 2023.
Specifically: New accounts, active accounts, deposits, and total money bet.
Researchers also examined marketing spend (i.e., advertising, bonuses, affiliation, and sponsorship).
The effect of COVID-19 was controlled for as an independent variable in the study’s model.
Here are the Spain gambling study’s charts for new accounts, active accounts, total money bet, and total money deposited.
The actual data (solid lines) of the time series was compared to model predictions (dashed lines) without the effect of Royal Decree on online gambling behavior.
The Royal Decree “significantly and permanently” reduced the number of new accounts by more than 260,000, compared to the previous time series trend, researchers found.
On the other hand, the Royal Decree had no impact on the number of active accounts.
The law had a substantial effect on betting behavior, significantly reducing the amount of money bet by 216 million euros starting from the second quarter of 2021.
However, despite the deposit limits, the upward trend of deposits continued.
The study reported that total deposits increased by about 1 billion euros from 2020 to 2023, but at a slower pace than projected in the absence of the Royal Decree.
Long-Term Changes to Spanish Gambling
Reducing problem gambling in a population doesn’t happen quickly.
Researchers behind the Spain gambling study noted that some effects of the new regulations could be seen over the long term.
“[T]he most plausible explanation is that the impact of the Royal Decree on the number of active accounts and deposits will be observed in the long term,” researchers wrote.
They noted that “while it does not affect the amount deposited, the law has had a notable impact on the total amount wagered. It is important to highlight that the total amount wagered is a more sensitive variable that more accurately reflects engagement in gambling.”
They also noted that the deposit limits are actually “remarkably high.”
The average gross monthly salary in Spain in 2025 is approximately €2,300.
“[A] feasible explanation relates to the fact that the law limits the maximum amount of money a gambler can deposit, specifically allowing for three limits: a maximum of €600 in one day, €1,500 in one week, and €3,000 in one month.”
Effective Gambling Regulation
Based on their findings, the Spain gambling study’s authors said that it’s “crucial to emphasize the importance of effective legal regulation rather than opting to promote self-regulation.”
In gambling markets around the world, the gambling industry commonly “attempts to self-regulate.”
Researchers noted that concepts like “corporate social responsibility” and “responsible gambling” have “repeatedly proven ineffective in preventing gambling-related problems.”
This ineffectiveness is partly due to the focus on “problem gamblers” rather than the “problematic products” promoted by the betting industry. Some countries are realizing the flawed nature of so-called RG, as a Brazilian state, for example, filed a lawsuit to abolish use of the phrase.
“These self-regulation strategies are often used by the industry to delay the implementation of more stringent and necessary governmental regulations,” the paper authors wrote.
Researchers criticized the Spanish Supreme Court ruling nullifying some of the new regulations. They called it “another example of industry litigation aimed at preventing regulatory measures from being implemented.”
They called for further studies into the effects of more robust online gambling regulation.
Related: SAFE Bet Act: Inside The Federal Sports Betting Bill
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