Spain’s gambling regulator and its online gaming trade body will both take the stage at the Gaming in Spain Conference in Madrid on October 15, while licensed operators push back against a new round of gambling restrictions.
The 2026 edition takes place at the Auditorio ECIJA in Madrid, and registration is now open. Regulatory reform and the industry’s reaction to it will be among the main topics on the program.
According to the organizers, the event will serve as the place where participants discuss the immediate future of Spain’s regulated iGaming market.
Regulator and trade body on one program
Mikel Arana, director general of the Directorate General for the Regulation of Gambling (DGOJ), will open the conference with the keynote address. Jorge Hinojosa, director general of Jdigital, will speak later in the day in a block on iGaming regulation and licensed operators, where he will present the industry’s perspective on sustainable gambling reform.
Their appearances come at a time when the two sides disagree over the direction of regulation. The Spanish government is preparing another round of gambling restrictions, and licensed operators have indicated that they will resist these measures to the greatest extent possible.
The measures in question
The restrictions, now in the process of being launched, include deposit limits that apply across operators and a new central problem gambling detection algorithm mandated by the DGOJ. Over the longer term, the government intends to amend the country’s gambling act and introduce significant new marketing restrictions, among other changes.
Jdigital recently released a statement in which it said it would not cooperate with the government and the regulator until at least after next year’s parliamentary elections.
“In the final phase of the current legislative session, and with no expectation that a reform of this magnitude can complete the legislative process and become law, the work carried out in the coming months must necessarily be viewed with a horizon that extends beyond the current legislative term,” the association said.
Spanish-licensed operators therefore appear to be betting on a return to power in 2027 by the Partido Popular, which is considered more favorable to the industry.
Operators consider legal action
Xavi Munoz Bellvehí, managing partner at ECIJA Barcelona, will deliver a regulatory update and analysis in the conference’s first block. During a recent Gaming in Spain webinar, Munoz said Spanish-licensed operators are clearly unhappy with the proposed reforms. He added that they are considering a court case against the government to stop the DGOJ from implementing cross-operator deposit limits.
That measure will also be the subject of a dedicated panel. Justo Sancho, director of safe gambling at the DGOJ, and Sander Hoogendoorn, senior consultant at Chevron Group, will discuss the implementation of cross-operator deposit limits, and Camille Gonzálvez, TMT and iGaming lawyer at ECIJA, will moderate.
The opening block, which starts after doors open at 9 a.m., also includes a session on Melilla and regulated gambling in Spain from Patricia Lalanda, partner at LOYRA Abogados.
The detection algorithm will come up in a block on algorithms and player protection. In that session, Pedro Romero, chief of safer gambling partnerships at BetBlocker, and Paula Murphy, head of commercial at Mindway AI, will address problem gambling detection algorithms and player protection.
Black market, fraud and new products
A block on the threat of the black market will open with a presentation of the Spanish iGaming market in numbers from Josh Hodgson, COO of H2 Gambling Capital. Dmitry Belianin, co-founder of Blask Business Intelligence, will compare the popularity of onshore and offshore games. Björn Fuchs, chair of VNLOK, will discuss the fight against illegal gambling advertising on Big Tech platforms, and Mauro De Fabritiis, founder of MDF Partners, will examine whether crypto or regulated operators offer the better player experience.
On fraud prevention and AML, David Calvete Sarasa, chief inspector of the National Police, will speak on fraud prevention in regulated gambling. Pedro López Martín-Andino, managing partner at MartínAndino Abogados, and Jochen Biewer, managing director of Chevron Group, will cover the practical impact of the EU’s new AML/CFT regulation.
The program also includes sessions on new products and technology for the Spanish market. Gustaf Hagman and Jonas Delin, co-founders of Avanti Studios, will present an AI-powered live casino, and Gonzálvez will return to discuss emerging gambling and betting formats. Andreas Ditsche, CEO of iGaming.com, will talk about AI and affiliate marketing, while Juan Jose Llorente, country manager for Spain and Portugal at Adyen, will address compliant payment solutions.
A final block will provide an update on promising Latin American markets, with the speaker to be announced. In a breakout session, Mario Chamorro, partner at MDF Partners, will look at which operators lead and lag in promotions in Spain and what works.
Organizers will announce additional sessions at a later date.