Spain’s leading gambling association, the Consejo Empresarial del Juego (CeJuego), has called for the dismissal of Pablo Bustinduy, Minister of Social Rights and Consumer Affairs, as well as Mikel Arana Etxezarreta, Director General for the Regulation of Gambling (DGOJ). The association accused the officials of a “tendentious and selective use” of public data on sanctions. According to CeJuego, this harms the reputation of the licensed private gambling sector.

According to the DGOJ’s own database, SELAE received four fines in December 2024 for allowing individuals listed in the national self-exclusion register to gamble on its website. CeJuego said this reflects a “lower level of oversight” applied to SELAE, which as a state-owned operator is “subject to more lenient rules” than private companies.

“The €126,000 fine against SELAE was included in the total figures cited by the DGOJ, yet the public operator’s name does not appear in the Ministry’s release,” CeJuego explained.

CeJuego’s Director General, Alejandro Landaluce, stated that the incident “undermines confidence in Spain’s legally regulated gambling market and distorts the facts.”

“It is unacceptable to use partial or misleading information to attack private operators while omitting relevant infractions committed by the public operator,” Landaluce stated.

The association also argues that the government acts as both “judge and participant” in the market, since it regulates private operators while simultaneously competing with them through SELAE. CeJuego describes this as a conflict of interest that undermines fair competition.

CeJuego confirmed that it will file an official complaint with the National Commission for Markets and Competition (CNMC), seeking its intervention.

The association also criticised the Ministry’s press-release headline: “Consumer Affairs fines 26 gaming operators more than €3 million for serious violations: Betfair, 888 and Codere among those sanctioned.”

CeJuego stated that this framing “deliberately mixes” licensed and unlicensed operators, creating the impression that all fines were imposed on regulated brands. In reality, the association noted, fines for licensed operators such as Betfair, 888 and Codere ranged from €17,500 to €125,000, while €30 million of the €33 million total corresponded to six illegal operators.

According to CeJuego, this case “demonstrates the Ministry’s ongoing hostility” toward the regulated industry – a sector that has consistently sought dialogue and cooperation with authorities.

CeJuego concluded its statement with a formal demand for the resignation of Minister Bustinduy and DGOJ Director Arana, citing “a repeated pattern of conduct that misrepresents public data and undermines the integrity of Spain’s licensed gambling market.”

Meanwhile, several key initiatives under the Royal Decree on safer gambling environments are expected to be implemented in 2026. However, industry representatives have expressed concern that they are being required to prepare for technical and data-exchange changes without having received final regulatory specifications.

The DGOJ stated that its plan includes creating a centralised system for player deposit limits – €600 per day, €1,500 per week and €3,000 per month – to ensure consistent affordability checks across all licensed operators.

A key element of the Decree is the development of an AI-driven Responsible Gambling algorithm designed to identify behavioural indicators of gambling harm in real time.

According to Mikel Arana, the algorithm is expected to be completed by March 2026 and will become mandatory for all operators in Spain. The DGOJ believes the project will make Spain the first European regulator to apply AI directly to customer intervention and harm prevention in online gambling.

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