Spain’s 17 autonomous communities have signed a joint document defending their authority to regulate land-based gambling venues, amid concerns over the role of the Directorate-General for the Regulation of Gambling (DGOJ).
The document was submitted to the DGOJ and the Gambling Policy Council on Sept. 7, following discussions involving all 17 regional administrations that began on July 14. The initiative is led by Ramón Cubián, Madrid’s Director-General for Land and the official responsible for gambling.
“With all 17 autonomous communities present, we drew up proposals which we then circulated, incorporating contributions from several autonomous communities into a consolidated text,” Cubián told AZAR Plus.
“We have not produced a political text; we have produced a working document defending freedom and the powers of the autonomous communities.”
The regions are seeking assurances that national reforms will preserve their powers over licensing and the conditions governing land-based gambling venues. They are concerned that a coordinating role for the DGOJ could extend into responsibilities already assigned to regional administrations.
Cubián said regional governments are responsible for the day-to-day supervision of gambling businesses and the protection of vulnerable people.
“The autonomous communities are the authorities dealing with these matters every day. We have the daily responsibility to guarantee freedom of enterprise, freedom of leisure and protection for vulnerable people,” he said.
“This is not simply about insisting that ‘this is my competence’. It is the autonomous communities that protect vulnerable people within their territories, because that is our responsibility.”
According to Cubián, the dispute followed discussions after the 2025 Gambling Policy Council, when the DGOJ proposed a coordinating role over protections for vulnerable customers in land-based gambling.
“There was an attempt to assume a coordinating role over the autonomous communities, telling us what we had to do to protect vulnerable people in land-based gambling,” he said.
Cubián said regional differences should be considered in national policy.
“Each autonomous community has a different political, economic, social and business reality. The specific circumstances of gambling differ in each community, as do the number of gambling venues and people’s ways of life.”
The joint document calls for regional participation in decisions affecting land-based gambling, including potential future forms of retail distribution.
“We ask that these matters be analysed with everyone participating, including within the Gambling Policy Council, so that there is coordination between the state and the autonomous communities,” Cubián said.
The DGOJ and Ministry of Consumer Affairs are also working on measures intended to establish common gambling protection standards. These include a universal deposit-limit system, a common algorithm to identify gambling harms and risky behaviour, and separate reporting of players aged under 21.
The proposed universal deposit-limit system would set a €600 ($686.95) daily limit across licensed online operators. The common algorithm would establish criteria for identifying risky gambling behaviour and requiring intervention.
However, stakeholders remain concerned about the lack of detailed technical documents for key projects first presented in 2023. Businesses require clarity on data requirements, system integration, risk indicators, intervention procedures, delivery schedules and operational obligations.
Cubián also backed stronger safeguards against identity theft in online gambling and called for greater institutional cooperation.
“Taking advantage of this amendment to the Gambling Act, the framework for institutional collaboration should be guaranteed, maintaining an effective protection system and the effectiveness of the national system itself,” he said.