Spain’s playing regulator has reiterated that prediction market operators should receive a home licence if their merchandise fall below the nation’s playing laws. Speaking at MERGE Madrid 2026 on October 30, Director General Mikel Arana stated the authorized remedy of those providers is determined by their product mechanics.
The Dirección General de Ordenación del Juego (DGOJ) maintains that platforms providing playing actions below Law 13/2011 can’t serve Spanish clients with out authorisation. The regulator additionally confirmed that it continues proscribing entry from Spain to unauthorised providers.
Arana referred to as for a clearer strategy to the sector, mentioned alongside cryptocurrencies, Web3 and blockchain on the convention. He recognized a necessity for a regulatory imaginative and prescient that considers prediction markets and their relationship with present betting guidelines.
Existing Gambling Legislation Determines Platform Access
The DGOJ’s place doesn’t set up a separate licensing class. Authorities as a substitute assess whether or not a platform’s merchandise meet the definition of playing below Spanish regulation. Arana acknowledged: “Businesses offering products that constitute gambling must obtain the corresponding licence before serving Spanish customers.”
The regulator added: “Consequently, prediction markets that fall into this category but lack authorisation cannot legally offer their services in Spain.”
Spanish laws covers cross bets, the place an operator intermediates wagers between third events. Authorities have beforehand used this classification when describing prediction market exercise involving stakes on unsure future outcomes and platform commissions.
The DGOJ started proceedings in opposition to Polymarket and Kalshi in May and ordered their web sites blocked as a precaution. The ministry initially estimated that the course of may take three to 4 months. Its October 30 announcement offered no replace on the proceedings or affirmation of a ultimate determination.
European Approaches Remain Different
Spain’s place varieties a part of a wider debate over how regulators ought to classify occasion contracts. Malta is creating devoted guidelines, whereas Gibraltar has sought to draw prediction market companies. Other European authorities have restricted entry to sure platforms.
Italy has blocked Polymarket, whereas France’s playing regulator previously pushed the corporate to forestall entry by French customers. These measures illustrate the challenges platforms face throughout jurisdictions with totally different regulatory necessities.
International Expansion Brings Further Scrutiny
The regulatory debate is unfolding as prediction market corporations pursue industrial progress. Kalshi lately secured $1bn in funding, reaching an enterprise valuation of $40bn. It additionally introduced a partnership with S&P Dow Jones to develop indices monitoring occasion contracts on its platform.
Co-founder and chief government Tarek Mansour described the settlement as “the next evolution of Kalshi and its disruption of traditional markets and trading”.
Kalshi and Polymarket have reportedly approached monetary market establishments, together with the London Stock Exchange and Euronext, looking for assist for recognising prediction markets inside monetary providers. Data and index licensing may supply one other route into worldwide markets, though permission to supply buying and selling stays a separate regulatory matter.
For operators contemplating Spain, the DGOJ’s place makes product classification central to market entry. The regulator has reaffirmed present licensing necessities whereas leaving the query of a devoted framework unresolved.
