Spain held the International Gaming Congress. Leaders from across Europe came together in the country to discuss the future of gambling and gaming.
Along with the event, the message from the Spanish officials was that they cannot ignore the industry in the name of protection and care. Pablo Bustinduy, the director of Social Rights and Consumer Affairs, opened the event by stating the obvious: children come first. He stressed that Spain would not allow companies to direct advertising to minors or develop products which deteriorate public health.
However, the biggest part of the story was the reaction of Andres Barragán, the head of Spain’s gaming regulation, to that. He revealed a series of strict legislative measures just approved by Congress. The most important element of the legislation? A player may only keep money in a bank account that he/she owns together with the bank cards with the same name. Under no circumstances loan a card to someone or use an illegal method of payment. Spanish officials are convinced that these are required for the safeguarding of vulnerable players.
They didn’t only talk about the new laws at the conference. Researchers also had the chance to present their latest studies on gambling behavior and addiction prevention. Instead of the usual us-versus-them atmosphere, everyone actually worked together to find solutions that protect consumers without strangling the industry.
Spain’s ambitions go beyond its borders. In November, seven European countries’ gambling regulators met to discuss a growing issue with which they have been confronted: a rapidly increasing number of illegal online gambling sites. These fraud operators are purportedly everywhere, distributing the promotional videos on social media and making it very difficult for players to know who the authentic ones are.
First of all, the officials pledged to share the burden together. They would inform each other of the illegal operators, endeavor to take down the illicit advertisements on the social work from the platform, and exchange strategy, implementing and taking action. The new regulatory framework is in the stages of development and expected to be unveiled at the beginning of 2026.
Editor-in-chief and creator Cole Smith of casinocurrencies.com, has extensive experience with casino payment systems, The site was created to provide an honest and trustworthy resource for online gambling players.