The Spanish Gambling Regulatory Authority initiated an enforcement storm against unlicensed gambling promotion in the first quarter of 2026, with the production company Make Money Now SA of the popular online reality show channel Zona Gemelos being a typical case caught. The regulatory body determined that the company had conducted affiliate promotions for an unlicensed gambling operator in several reality shows, violating the "serious" regulations of Law 13/2011 on Gambling Regulation. DGOJ issued administrative fines totaling over 10.29 million euros through nine final decisions in the first quarter, including two cases classified as "very serious" with fines totaling 10 million euros. Since the amendment of the law in July 2021 to mandatorily publicize penalty records, the agency has issued 221 penalties, with total fines exceeding 506 million euros.
The clash between youth protection red lines and social media promotion
The nerves of the regulatory body were touched by a cross-platform precision marketing campaign. The investigation found that illegal advertisements and affiliate links were simultaneously spread through channels such as Instagram, Kick, X, and Discord of Zona Gemelos, where the user profiles are predominantly teenagers. DGOJ expressed clear concerns about the risks of unlicensed operators not adhering to any consumer protection standards. The company quickly removed the illegal advertisements after initial inquiries, admitted responsibility, voluntarily paid a settlement, and was recognized for its speed of rectification, ultimately reducing the fine from the originally set 10,000 euros to 6,000 euros according to the procedural reduction provisions of Spanish administrative procedure law.
It is noteworthy that DGOJ just released the "2026-2030 Safe Gambling Plan" last month, which clearly prioritizes the study of the impact of social media on gambling behavior and states that it will develop a standard mechanism to detect risky online gambling behavior.
The enforcement accumulation behind over 500 million euros in fines
Since the amendment of the law in 2021, DGOJ has built a deterrent enforcement system for both licensed and offshore operators through more than 221 penalty records and a total fine amount exceeding 506 million euros. The two extremely significant fines announced this time were directed at offshore entities that had been operating illegally in Spain for two years and continued to provide betting services without the necessary Spanish licenses.
PASA official website continuously tracks European gambling regulatory enforcement and social media compliance dynamics, noting the Spanish DGOJ's accountability attitude towards content producers and live streaming platforms—not only focusing on the gambling operators themselves but also extending regulatory reach to industry chain parties providing promotional channels for unlicensed platforms—drawing a clearer boundary line for digital gambling marketing compliance in Europe.
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This article is from "PASA-Global iGaming Leaders" gambling industry news channel: https://t.me/pasa_news
Original in-depth gambling channel: https://t.me/gamblingdeep
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PASA official website: https://www.pasa.news
