Spain is moving toward a standardized artificial intelligence system to detect potentially harmful gambling behavior, a change that could require licensed online casinos to replace their current player-risk monitoring models.

The Directorate General for the Regulation of Gambling (DGOJ) extended its public consultation on October 16, 2026, giving operators and other stakeholders until October 26 to comment on the revised proposal.

The planned system would use machine learning and behavioral data to identify at-risk gamblers. It would apply to nationally licensed online gambling operators, including casino platforms.

The proposal has not been adopted and does not yet impose new legal obligations.

Spain's Gambling Risk Algorithm Would Work Like…

Under the proposed framework, operators would assess customer activity during the first seven days of each month, examining gambling behavior across a rolling 183-day period.

The system would use an XGBoost machine-learning model analyzing 48 behavioral variables, including deposits, withdrawals, wagering activity and playing patterns.

Rather than allowing each operator to rely entirely on its own risk-detection methodology, the DGOJ wants a standardized approach that produces more consistent assessments across the regulated market.

For online casino platforms, implementing the system could require changes to customer-data processing, compliance software and automated account monitoring.

Players identified as presenting elevated gambling risk would be subject to additional protections, potentially including restrictions on promotional communications.

Data Privacy Becomes a Central Issue

The revised proposal also addresses concerns about how gambling operators collect and use personal information.

Spain's data protection authority has questioned aspects of the proposed model, including whether all the information used is necessary and whether automated risk classifications are sufficiently transparent.

The updated framework seeks to strengthen safeguards around the use of personal data and provide players with greater opportunities to understand and challenge their classifications.

It would also restrict operators from using gambling-risk assessments for advertising or commercial profiling.

This creates an important distinction for casino app technology. AI used to identify potentially harmful gambling behavior would face different requirements from AI used to encourage additional spending.

What Could Change for Casino Apps in 2027?

Most major online casino platforms already use some form of automated customer monitoring, although the methods and technologies vary.

Spain's proposal could reduce those differences by requiring nationally licensed operators to apply the same regulatory detection model to ensure responsible gambling.

That would create additional technical responsibilities for casino app developers, particularly around data integration, automated assessments, recordkeeping and the delivery of player-protection measures.

It could also raise questions about how operators handle incorrect risk classifications and ensure that automated decisions remain open to review.

For now, the immediate development is procedural. Spain has extended consultation until October 26, and the regulator must still evaluate responses before finalizing any requirements.

If adopted, the framework could become an important European example of regulators setting the technical standards for AI-based gambling protection rather than leaving individual operators to choose their own systems.

Sources Used

Dirección General de Ordenación del Juego. (2026, October 16). Acuerdo de ampliación del plazo del segundo trámite de participación pública del proyecto de resolución por la que se aprueba el mecanismo de detección de comportamientos de riesgo de las personas usuarias [Extension of the public consultation deadline for the proposed gambling risk detection mechanism]. Official DGOJ announcement.

Dirección General de Ordenación del Juego. (2026, October 13). Participación pública proyecto de resolución del mecanismo de detección de comportamientos de riesgo [Public consultation on the proposed gambling risk detection mechanism]. Official consultation and technical documentation