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🇪🇸 Spain · Dirección General de Ordenación del Juego (DGOJ)

Spain Online Gambling Licence — 2026

State online licence under Ley 13/2011: 20% tax on net income, a EUR 2,000,000 guarantee per general licence and entry only through a published call. The last call closed on 17 December 2018; today the way in is buying a licensed company.

Tier 2 — Credible domestic / EU regional

Facts on this page verified 15 September 2026 against primary sources.

Spain licenses online gambling at state level under Ley 13/2011, administered by the Dirección General de Ordenación del Juego (DGOJ). The structure is two-tier: a general licence per category (betting, other games, contests) and a singular licence per game type underneath it. General licences last 10 years, singular ones one to five. The DGOJ counted 77 licence holders and 64 active operators in 2025, a year in which online GGR reached EUR 1,700.55 million, up 16.99%.

The number that matters more than any fee is a date: 17 December 2018, when the third call for general licences closed. Under the Act, general licences are granted only inside a call approved by ministerial order, and none has been opened since. Singular licences keep flowing to existing licensees (eight on 17 June 2026), but a new entrant either buys a licensed company or waits. The guides that describe Spain as an application you file are describing 2018.

Quick facts

RegulatorDirección General de Ordenación del Juego ↗
TierTier 2 — Credible domestic / EU regional
Licence typesGeneral licence — Apuestas (betting), 10 years, General licence — Otros juegos (casino, slots, poker, bingo), 10 years, General licence — Concursos (contests), 10 years, Singular licence per game type (1-5 years), only under a general licence
Application costEUR 10,000 tasa per licence (general or singular) + EUR 38,000 technical conformity report (statutory minimum, one report can cover several licences on the same system) + EUR 2,500 registration; advisers quote indexed figures about 6% higher
Annual costRegulatory levy of 0.075% of amounts staked (Ley 13/2011 art. 49.2 f), accrued 31 December and paid in January; guarantee of EUR 2,000,000 per general licence in the initial period, EUR 2,600,000 from 1 January 2027
Gaming tax20% of net income (stakes less prizes) on betting, casino, slots, poker, bingo and contests; 10% for operators fiscally resident in Ceuta or Melilla; an Autonomous Community may add up to a fifth of the rate, so 24% at most
Corporate tax25% (Ley 27/2014 art. 29)
SubstanceSociedad anónima or EEA equivalent with gaming as its sole object, EUR 60,000 paid-up capital (2017 call), a permanent representative in Spain, .es domains and the internal-control data warehouse located in Spain
TimelineOnly inside an open call: the DGOJ decides within 6 months of registry entry (silence counts as approval), grants provisionally, and the definitive certification report is due within 4 months. No call has been open since 17 December 2018.

Verified facts — fees, tax, capital, market access

Regime: Active · Last verified 15 September 2026 · Next review 14 December 2026 · 9 claims: 5 officially verified, 4 corroborated, 0 estimates. Each row opens its sources.

Calculate my scenario → Compare with the other canonical licences

Official regulator fees, by licence type

Regulator charges only. Adviser, due-diligence and third-party costs are not in this table.

Licence typeFeeAmountCadenceEvidence
General licence — Apuestas (betting)10-year term Licence application tasa (art. 49.5 d) EUR 10,000 once
Corroborated

The tasa for applying for a licence is EUR 10,000 per licence, general or singular, and EUR 100 per authorisation (Ley 13/2011 art. 49.5 d); advisers quote an indexed EUR 10,615.20 in 2025.

Effective from 29 May 2011 · reviewed 15 September 2026

Statutory base amount on the BOE consolidated text. Budget laws may index fixed tasas; Chambers (Asensi, Nov 2025) quotes EUR 10,615.20. The DGOJ tasas page was unreachable on 2026-09-15.
Registration in the Registro General de Licencias de Juego (art. 49.5 c) EUR 2,500 once
Corroborated

Registration in the Registro General de Licencias de Juego costs EUR 2,500 per entry (art. 49.5 c); advisers quote an indexed EUR 2,653.81.

Effective from 29 May 2011 · reviewed 15 September 2026
Technical conformity report of the gaming system (art. 49.5 b, statutory minimum) EUR 38,000 once
Corroborated

The tasa for the technical conformity report of the gaming system is EUR 38,000 as a statutory minimum (art. 49.5 b); one report has been accepted for several general licences on the same system, and advisers quote an indexed EUR 40,337.76.

Effective from 29 May 2011 · reviewed 15 September 2026

This is the figure most guides mislabel as the "general licence application fee".
General licence — Otros juegos (casino, slots, poker, bingo)10-year term Licence application tasa (art. 49.5 d) EUR 10,000 once
Corroborated

The tasa for applying for a licence is EUR 10,000 per licence, general or singular, and EUR 100 per authorisation (Ley 13/2011 art. 49.5 d); advisers quote an indexed EUR 10,615.20 in 2025.

Effective from 29 May 2011 · reviewed 15 September 2026

Statutory base amount on the BOE consolidated text. Budget laws may index fixed tasas; Chambers (Asensi, Nov 2025) quotes EUR 10,615.20. The DGOJ tasas page was unreachable on 2026-09-15.
Registration in the Registro General de Licencias de Juego (art. 49.5 c) EUR 2,500 once
Corroborated

Registration in the Registro General de Licencias de Juego costs EUR 2,500 per entry (art. 49.5 c); advisers quote an indexed EUR 2,653.81.

Effective from 29 May 2011 · reviewed 15 September 2026
Technical conformity report of the gaming system (art. 49.5 b, statutory minimum) EUR 38,000 once
Corroborated

The tasa for the technical conformity report of the gaming system is EUR 38,000 as a statutory minimum (art. 49.5 b); one report has been accepted for several general licences on the same system, and advisers quote an indexed EUR 40,337.76.

Effective from 29 May 2011 · reviewed 15 September 2026

This is the figure most guides mislabel as the "general licence application fee".
General licence — Concursos (contests)10-year term Licence application tasa (art. 49.5 d) EUR 10,000 once
Corroborated

The tasa for applying for a licence is EUR 10,000 per licence, general or singular, and EUR 100 per authorisation (Ley 13/2011 art. 49.5 d); advisers quote an indexed EUR 10,615.20 in 2025.

Effective from 29 May 2011 · reviewed 15 September 2026

Statutory base amount on the BOE consolidated text. Budget laws may index fixed tasas; Chambers (Asensi, Nov 2025) quotes EUR 10,615.20. The DGOJ tasas page was unreachable on 2026-09-15.
Registration in the Registro General de Licencias de Juego (art. 49.5 c) EUR 2,500 once
Corroborated

Registration in the Registro General de Licencias de Juego costs EUR 2,500 per entry (art. 49.5 c); advisers quote an indexed EUR 2,653.81.

Effective from 29 May 2011 · reviewed 15 September 2026
Singular licence (one per game type, under a general licence; 1-5 years) Singular licence application tasa (art. 49.5 d) EUR 10,000 once
Corroborated

The tasa for applying for a licence is EUR 10,000 per licence, general or singular, and EUR 100 per authorisation (Ley 13/2011 art. 49.5 d); advisers quote an indexed EUR 10,615.20 in 2025.

Effective from 29 May 2011 · reviewed 15 September 2026

Statutory base amount on the BOE consolidated text. Budget laws may index fixed tasas; Chambers (Asensi, Nov 2025) quotes EUR 10,615.20. The DGOJ tasas page was unreachable on 2026-09-15.
Registration of the singular licence (art. 49.5 c) EUR 2,500 once
Corroborated

Registration in the Registro General de Licencias de Juego costs EUR 2,500 per entry (art. 49.5 c); advisers quote an indexed EUR 2,653.81.

Effective from 29 May 2011 · reviewed 15 September 2026

Taxes and levies

ChargeBaseRatePaidEvidence
ggr taxAgencia Estatal de Administración Tributaria (Impuesto sobre actividades de juego, Ley 13/2011 art. 48) GGR 20% of GGR quarterly
Officially verified

The state gaming tax (Impuesto sobre actividades de juego, art. 48.7) is 20% of net income (stakes less prizes paid) for pool, fixed-odds and exchange betting, other games (casino, slots, poker, bingo), contests and raffles; 22% of gross stakes for state sports pools; 10% of prize value for promotional random draws. It is declared quarterly.

Effective from 29 May 2011
levyDGOJ (tasa por la gestión administrativa del juego, art. 49.2 f) TURNOVER 0.075% of TURNOVER annual
Officially verified

Licensed operators pay a regulatory levy of 0.75 per mille (0.075%) of gross operating income, defined as the total amounts staked (for exchange betting, the players' winnings); it accrues on 31 December and is paid in January, with 25% earmarked for anti-fraud and safer-gambling work (art. 49.2 f, 49.5 f).

Effective from 29 May 2011

Base is stakes, not GGR. Competitors publish 1% of GGR, 0.5-1%, 0.075% of GGR and 0.00075% of wagers; all four are wrong on base, rate or both.
corporateAgencia Estatal de Administración Tributaria (Ley 27/2014 art. 29) PROFIT 25% of PROFIT annual
Officially verified

The general corporate income tax rate is 25% (Ley 27/2014 art. 29).

Effective from 1 January 2015

Locked or required capital — not a fee

Capital that must be held is shown here so it is never mixed into fee totals; the cost calculator treats it as locked capital.

Market access — where this licence does and does not reach

Holding this licence does not create a right to take players in every country. Check the rules of the player's country. Rows without an evidence-backed rule say "Needs legal review" rather than assuming access.

Player marketStatusBasisEvidence
Great Britain Local licence required Gambling (Licensing and Advertising) Act 2014: point-of-consumption licensing by the UKGC.
Officially verified

A Spanish licence does not cover Great Britain: GB-facing operators need a UK Gambling Commission licence.
United StatesNeeds legal reviewNo evidence-backed rule in the registry for General licence — Apuestas (betting) and United States.—
CanadaNeeds legal reviewNo evidence-backed rule in the registry for General licence — Apuestas (betting) and Canada.—
BrazilNeeds legal reviewNo evidence-backed rule in the registry for General licence — Apuestas (betting) and Brazil.—
EU / EEANeeds legal reviewNo evidence-backed rule in the registry for General licence — Apuestas (betting) and EU / EEA.—
Latin AmericaNeeds legal reviewNo evidence-backed rule in the registry for General licence — Apuestas (betting) and Latin America.—
AsiaNeeds legal reviewNo evidence-backed rule in the registry for General licence — Apuestas (betting) and Asia.—
AfricaNeeds legal reviewNo evidence-backed rule in the registry for General licence — Apuestas (betting) and Africa.—

Sources and change log

Primary sources (statute, regulator, ministry, tax authority) are listed first. Superseded figures are kept, not deleted.

Spot an error? Submit a correction — every change is versioned with its source and effective date.

Pros

  • Statutory certainty: fees, tax rates, guarantee amounts and decision deadlines are all in the BOE
  • GGR of EUR 1,700.55 million in 2025, up 16.99%, with casino at 52.51% of the market
  • Supreme Court judgment of 2 April 2024 restored welcome bonuses to new customers and celebrity advertising
  • Six-month statutory decision with positive silence, and singular licences available at any time to a general licensee

Cons

  • No call for general licences since 17 December 2018 and none announced: new entrants must acquire a licensee
  • EUR 2,000,000 guarantee per general licence, rising to EUR 2,600,000 on 1 January 2027; mortgage security no longer accepted
  • Joint cross-operator deposit limits (EUR 700 / 1,750 / 3,300) from 25 March 2027 add a real-time DGOJ check before every deposit
  • Audiovisual advertising confined to 01:00-05:00; tax can reach 24% with a regional surcharge

Best for

  • Groups buying a Spanish licensee: 77 licence holders, 64 active, EUR 1,700.55m GGR in 2025
  • Operators that want Spain specifically, with a Spanish-language product and local marketing under the 01:00-05:00 audiovisual window

One law, three general licences, one singular licence per game

Ley 13/2011 art. 10 requires a general licence for each gambling category an operator wants to sell: apuestas (betting), otros juegos (casino, slots, poker, bingo) and concursos (contests). Each general licence lasts 10 years and renews for another 10 (art. 10.6). Inside a category, each game type needs its own singular licence, lasting one to five years depending on the game and renewable (art. 11.5). A general licensee can ask for a singular licence at any time (RD 1614/2011 art. 17.2), which is why the DGOJ keeps granting roulette, blackjack, slot and betting licences between calls. Lose the general licence and every singular licence under it falls with it (art. 11.6). Licences cannot be assigned or run by a third party; they move only inside a merger, spin-off or business-branch contribution that the DGOJ has authorised (RD 1614/2011 art. 6).

What the licence costs: statutory tasas, the 0.075% levy and the guarantee

The tasas are in Ley 13/2011 art. 49.5: EUR 10,000 per licence application, general or singular; at least EUR 38,000 for the technical conformity report on the gaming system, which one report has covered for several general licences; EUR 2,500 per registry entry; EUR 5,000 per mandatory inspection; EUR 20 per certificate. Most guides call the EUR 38,000 the "general licence fee"; it is the certification report. Advisers quote indexed amounts (EUR 10,615.20, EUR 40,337.76 and EUR 2,653.81 in Chambers 2025) because budget laws adjust fixed tasas; the DGOJ publishes the current figures. Every year the operator also pays a regulatory levy of 0.75 per mille of gross operating income, which the Act defines as total amounts staked, not GGR; it accrues on 31 December and is paid in January, with a quarter earmarked for anti-fraud and safer-gambling work. Then the guarantee: EUR 2,000,000 per general licence during the initial period, which runs from the application to 31 December of the year after grant, and EUR 500,000 for contests; in cash, bank guarantee or surety insurance in favour of the DGOJ. RD 520/2026 raises these to EUR 2,600,000 and EUR 650,000 on 1 January 2027, sets the later-years amount at EUR 1,300,000 for all of an operator's general licences, and since 26 June 2026 no longer accepts a mortgage as security.

No open call since December 2018: how operators enter today

The three calls so far: 2011 and 2014, each open for one month, and the third under Orden HFP/1227/2017, open from 17 December 2017 to 17 December 2018 at 13:00. Inside a call the DGOJ must decide within six months of the application entering the register, and silence counts as approval (RD 1614/2011 art. 10); licences are granted provisionally with the definitive certification report due within four months. Outside a call there is nothing to file. Any interested party can ask the DGOJ to promote a new call once 18 months have passed since the last one (Ley 13/2011 art. 10.1), and the DGOJ has six months to act on the request unless it cites public-interest reasons; Chambers, ICLG and Loyra all record no call and no signal of one as of late 2025. Two Spanish pages date a call to December 2022; there is no such order in the BOE. The practical route is a share deal for one of the 77 licence holders, with the guarantee, the tasas already paid and the 10-year term coming with the company.

Tax: 20% of net income, 10% in Ceuta and Melilla, 24% at the regional ceiling

The Impuesto sobre actividades de juego (Ley 13/2011 art. 48) taxes betting of every kind, other games, contests and raffles at 20% of net income, meaning stakes less prizes paid; for exchange betting the base is the commission. State sports pools pay 22% of gross stakes and promotional random draws 10% of the prize value. Operators fiscally resident in and actually based in Ceuta or Melilla pay half: 10%. In the other direction, an Autonomous Community may raise the rates by up to 20% of the rate for operators fiscally resident in its territory, so the statutory ceiling on online net income is 24%; that clause is where the "20-25%" range in most guides comes from. The tax is declared quarterly. Corporate income tax is 25% (Ley 27/2014 art. 29) on top, and the 0.075% levy on stakes sits beside both.

Advertising after the Supreme Court, and the 2027 joint deposit limits

Real Decreto 958/2020 confines gambling advertising on audiovisual media to 01:00-05:00, with special rules for live sport (arts. 18-22). On 2 April 2024 the Supreme Court, on the appeal of the Asociación Española de Juego Digital, annulled arts. 13.1 and 13.3 (promotions to new customers), 15 (celebrities), 23.1 (blanket ban on online commercial communications), 25.3 (video-sharing platforms) and 26.2-26.3 (social media) for lack of legal cover; the judgment was published in the BOE on 25 May 2024 and the consolidated decree marks those articles as annulled. The rest stands. On player protection, RD 1614/2011 annex II sets default deposit limits of EUR 600 a day, EUR 1,500 a week and EUR 3,000 a month per operator. Real Decreto 520/2026, approved on 23 June 2026 and published on 25 June, adds joint limits across all operators of EUR 700 a day, EUR 1,750 a week and EUR 3,300 per four weeks, enforced through a DGOJ system that operators must query in real time before accepting a deposit; it applies from 25 March 2027.

Application process

  1. Sociedad anónima or EEA equivalent with gaming as sole object; EUR 60,000 paid-up capital; permanent representative in Spain
  2. Registration in the Sección Especial de Concurrentes of the licence register; .es domains; technical project and preliminary certification report
  3. Wait for a call (none since 17 December 2018) or acquire a licensed company
  4. Inside a call: file with the EUR 2,000,000 guarantee per general licence, the tasas and the operating plan; singular licences filed alongside
  5. DGOJ decision within 6 months of registry entry, positive silence
  6. Provisional licence; definitive certification report within 4 months; annual levy and quarterly tax from go-live

Operational realities

Capital requirements

EUR 60,000 paid-up share capital (S.A. minimum, 2017 call); guarantee of EUR 2,000,000 per general licence in the initial period (EUR 500,000 contests), EUR 2,600,000 and EUR 650,000 from 1 January 2027, then EUR 1,300,000 for all general licences in later years; technical, economic and financial solvency per the call (RD 1614/2011 art. 14).

Player protection

Per-operator deposit limits EUR 600 / 1,500 / 3,000; joint cross-operator limits EUR 700 / 1,750 / 3,300 from 25 March 2027 (RD 520/2026); risk-profiling duties under RD 176/2023; self-exclusion register (RGIAJ); audiovisual advertising 01:00-05:00.

Banking & payment processing

Guarantees are lodged in cash, by bank guarantee from an entity authorised in Spain, or by surety insurance; mortgage security has not been accepted since 26 June 2026. Deposits and withdrawals in 2025 were EUR 4,322.46 million and EUR 3,013.63 million according to the DGOJ annual report.

B2B vs B2C licensing

Ley 13/2011 licenses operators only; there is no B2B licence. Suppliers sell to DGOJ licensees, and their gaming systems go through the certification reports paid for by the operator.

Recent developments (2025-2026)

Real Decreto 520/2026 (BOE 25 June 2026): joint deposit limits across operators from 25 March 2027, guarantees of EUR 2,600,000 per general licence from 1 January 2027, permanent representative in Spain and no mortgage security from 26 June 2026. DGOJ annual report (March 2026): GGR EUR 1,700.55 million in 2025, marketing spend EUR 664.40 million. On 17 June 2026 the DGOJ granted eight provisional singular licences to Iberix Gaming and Winamax; still no call for general licences.

How it compares

Versus Italy: both are large, tender-gated EU markets; Spain's guarantee is per general licence rather than a concession fee. Versus Estonia and Romania: those licences are open to application at any time; Spain's is not.

Frequently asked questions

Can I apply for a Spanish online gambling licence in 2026?

Not for a general licence. General licences are granted only inside a call approved by ministerial order, and the last call closed on 17 December 2018. Existing licensees can still obtain singular licences at any time. New entrants acquire a licensed company or ask the DGOJ to promote a new call.

How much does a DGOJ licence cost?

Statutory tasas: EUR 10,000 per licence, at least EUR 38,000 for the technical conformity report, EUR 2,500 per registration (indexed amounts about 6% higher). Plus a guarantee of EUR 2,000,000 per general licence (EUR 2,600,000 from 1 January 2027) and an annual levy of 0.075% of stakes.

What is the gambling tax in Spain?

20% of net income (stakes less prizes) for betting, casino, slots, poker, bingo and contests; 10% for operators based in Ceuta or Melilla; up to 24% if an Autonomous Community applies the maximum surcharge. Corporate income tax is 25%.

Is the EUR 38,000 fee the licence application fee?

No. EUR 38,000 is the statutory minimum tasa for the technical conformity report on the gaming system (art. 49.5 b). The licence application tasa is EUR 10,000 per licence.

Are welcome bonuses banned in Spain?

Not any more. The Supreme Court judgment of 2 April 2024 annulled RD 958/2020 arts. 13.1 and 13.3, which had banned promotions aimed at new customers, along with the celebrity ban and the blanket online and social-media restrictions. The 01:00-05:00 audiovisual window remains.

What changes under Real Decreto 520/2026?

Joint deposit limits across all operators of EUR 700 a day, EUR 1,750 a week and EUR 3,300 per four weeks, checked through a DGOJ system from 25 March 2027; guarantees of EUR 2,600,000 per general licence from 1 January 2027; a permanent representative in Spain and no mortgage security from 26 June 2026.

Named experts covering Spain

Real, publicly-verifiable practitioners whose work informs our coverage of this jurisdiction.

Santiago Asensi Founder · Asensi Abogados Spanish gambling (DGOJ) · International gaming · Licensing Patricia Lalanda Ordóñez Partner · Loyra Abogados Online gambling licensing (DGOJ) · Regulatory and compliance · IP, technology and data protection in gaming Xavi Muñoz Bellvehí Managing Partner, Barcelona office · ECIJA Online gaming and betting regulation (Ley 13/2011, DGOJ) · M&A and financing for regulated operators · Technology, telecoms and data protection

Further reading on Spain

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