European Gambling Regulators Meet in Madrid to Tackle Illegal Operators

Spain's gambling regulator DGOJ hosted representatives from Austria, France, Germany, Italy, Portugal, and the UK for a technical exchange meeting focused on key regulatory challenges facing the European market.

Key Topics DiscussedThe session agenda covered several priority areas for operators and compliance teams:

Illegal gambling and affiliates: Spain led a session examining how affiliates promote unlicensed operators, signaling potential enforcement focus in this areaPayment blocking: Germany and Italy presented joint initiatives on blocking payments to illegal operatorsAI in CRM: France addressed artificial intelligence use in customer relationship management and conflicts of interest in sports bettingSelf-exclusion: Italy shared its experience with in-person self-exclusion registration systemsAML compliance: Austria presented on the FATF mutual evaluation programme and the new EU anti-money laundering legislative packageInternational Congress to FollowRegulators from Italy, Germany, the UK and Spain will continue discussions at the DGOJ's first International Gambling Congress on November 13, where they will address common regulatory challenges and emerging trends in European gambling regulation.

The meeting was chaired by DGOJ Director General Mikel Arana Etxezarreta, who emphasized the value of cross-border cooperation in his closing remarks.