Spain’s DGOJ Hosts Meeting on Anti-Money Laundering
Spain’s gambling regulator, DGOJ, recently held its first sectoral meeting focused on preventing money laundering and terrorism financing. The conference, in collaboration with the Treasury and Sepblac, included online gambling operators.
Sectoral Meeting Details
The meeting occurred at the DGOJ’s headquarters in Madrid. Licensed online gambling operators and regulatory bodies discussed current challenges in regulatory compliance.
Mikel Arana, director general of the DGOJ, and Irene Sánchez Pérez from the Treasury inaugurated the event.
Key Discussion Points
Experts from the Financial Intelligence Unit analyzed regulatory developments and sanctions.
They also presented inspection findings and discussed financial intelligence’s role in detecting risky operations.
A round table allowed operators to ask questions of Alberto Navarro from the DGOJ and representatives from Sepblac.
Dialogue and Knowledge Exchange
The objective was to create an open space for dialogue between the public sector and online gaming operators. The DGOJ expects to repeat this event in the future.
Proposed Identification Requirements
Separately, new identification requirements have been proposed to prevent minors from accessing gaming machines.
The PSOE party wants to introduce systems preventing minors and self-excluded players from using slots.
They also seek “less addictive” online game designs. The proposal was approved by a parliamentary commission and will be debated in Congress and the Senate.
Online Gaming Revenue Growth
The DGOJ reported that online gross gaming revenue in Spain reached €348.1m in Q3. This represents a 14.4% increase compared to Q3 2023 and a 0.5% rise from Q2 2024.
The number of gambling accounts rose by 1.7% against the previous quarter. Deposits and withdrawals increased by 23.9% and 30.3% year-on-year, respectively.
The monthly average of active game accounts rose 33.3% year-on-year to 1,443,615, and new accounts rose 42.4% to 153,181.