Spain gambling payment method verification AML rules take effect for all players

Spain's licensed online gambling operators must now confirm that the holder of a gambling account is the same person as the holder of every card, bank account or e-wallet used to deposit and withdraw. The payment method verification requirement is part of Royal Decree 813/2026, published on 8 October by the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Business, and it took effect on 28 October, iGB reports.

The decree amends 11 financial-sector royal decrees, among them the identity verification rules in Spain's anti-money laundering regulation. A verified gaming account is no longer enough on its own. Each payment method has to be shown to belong to the player.

What changes for deposits and withdrawals

The check runs in both directions, on money coming in and money going out. New accounts are covered immediately. Existing customers have until 28 April 2027, and meanwhile can keep depositing and playing but cannot withdraw winnings until the check is done. If nothing is verified by the deadline, the operator must close the account, notify the regulator DGOJ and return the full balance, including withheld winnings.

According to news agency EFE, cited by iGB, the measure targets identity impersonation. EFE reports that complaints rose 12% in 2025, to 8,675.

For players the effect is specific. Anyone who has been depositing with a partner's or a relative's card needs a payment method in their own name before they can cash out.

Six months to reach every existing customer

The immediate task for operators is technical: a reliable way to match names across cards, bank accounts and payment gateways, then every existing customer run through it before April. The online gambling association Jdigital has asked the authorities for an interpretive guide, for clarity and legal certainty, Sector del Juego reported.

The calendar adds pressure: the April deadline falls about a month after Spain's national deposit limits, which cap spending across all operators at €700 a day, are expected to launch in March 2027. The decree also extends to every player a principle the DGOJ had proposed only for at-risk customers. Under its draft risk-detection test, flagged players had to use payment methods in their own name.

iGB notes that holding back withdrawals until a check clears risks more complaints and support tickets at the moment players most want their money.

The UK duty rise and Sweden's Duel.com ban

Two other regulatory moves landed in the last week of October. In the UK, machine games duty rises from 20% to 25% on 1 April 2027, announced in the Autumn Budget on 28 October. It applies to machines with a maximum stake above £1 or a maximum prize above £100. HMRC's policy paper puts the extra yield at £135 million in 2027-28 and £130 million in each of the four following years, £655 million over five years; about 5,100 operators across 12,400 premises are affected. The government concludes the measure "is not expected to have any significant macroeconomic impacts," SBC News reports.

HMRC will look again at expected revenue once two years of monitoring data have been collected and analysed, SBC News notes, adding that the published assessment does not commit to a full review of employment or business effects. SBC News draws its own conclusion from that: neither the Treasury nor the government has offered assurances this will be the sector's final tax rise.

The industry disputes the government's reading of the consequences. The Betting and Gaming Council, citing EY modelling, said almost 9,000 jobs could be lost and nearly 1,000 betting shops and casinos could close or face serious risk of closure at the 25% rate. Regulus Partners warned of "a cut to cash flow that will prove fatal to many marginal venues," and put the average annual cost at £11,000 per betting shop and £100,000 per casino, iGB reported.

Sweden's regulator moved against an operator rather than a rate. Spelinspektionen issued an immediate ban to Immortal Snail LLC, which runs duel.com under an Anjouan Gaming Authority licence and holds no Swedish permit, SBC News reports. In its filing the authority set out the company's response: that Swedish "is an international language," that Sweden should be IP-blocked, that it cannot control whether payments are made in kronor, and that it should not have to stop offering Swedish on its website. Spelinspektionen said its investigation found the IP blocking had not been implemented and that kronor and Swedish still appeared when logging in from a Swedish address, with Swedish-language marketing continuing.

The Blask Index lists duel.com in the US, Canada, India, Finland, Germany, Poland, Norway, Spain and Sweden, with a licence in none of those markets. SBC News says the open question is enforcement: many illegal operators do not pay penalty fees or stop operating when handed a notice.