Spain’s Directorate General for the Regulation of Gambling has initiated the 2026 grant application for studies on gambling-related harm. The budget allocated to these grants is €950,620, and funding will be awarded through a competitive process.
Research Comes Before the Next Policy Step
The deadline for applications is set to June 22, 2026. Projects selected through the application process will have to be completed no later than June 30, 2027.
Spain is already examining how its gambling law should adapt to online gambling, digital promotion, and search visibility. With this new call for research, the regulator gets an additional path for gathering information while discussions are ongoing.
Six Areas Show the Regulator’s Concerns
The BOE notice describes six research lines. The first one covers the early identification of individuals displaying risky or severe gambling behavior. Another research line concerns individual, familial, and social consequences of gambling, including:
- Personal health;
- Emotional or psychological impact;
- Financial difficulties;
- Work or academic disruption;
- Social relationship problems;
- Legal issues.
The grant call also covers tools that may mitigate adverse impacts associated with gambling. This could support future decisions regarding gambling warning systems, intervention strategies, or operator-based measures.
Two research lines are related to product design. Researchers can explore the connection between video games and gambling, including lottery play, casino games, poker, and betting. It is possible to consider structural features in those products as well.
Finally, one research line is devoted to gender aspects. Gambling research in Spain will also examine how gender affects risky or more severe gambling behavior.
Video Games Remain a Regulatory Pressure Point
The video game line places Spain inside a wider European debate over random rewards, paid upgrades, and social casino-style mechanics. The grant wording does not mention loot boxes in the BOE extract. Nonetheless, including video games and gambling connections indicates where the DGOJ sees the gray area. It is not about whether the product can be classified as gambling. Rather, the research line leaves room to examine whether gambling-like mechanics can change risk patterns among users.
From the operator’s perspective, research might be useful in developing product, marketing, and player-protection policies. For suppliers, it could influence the way game mechanics are evaluated.
Research Bodies Lead the Grant Process
This call targets research institutions, health-related organizations, and non-profits that meet the stated criteria. As per the BOE extract, there can be no gambling operators on the boards of non-profits.
This aspect adds some element of independence from industry funding for the program. It also suggests that the government wants to conduct research that can inform policy-making without operator influence.
What’s Next to Come
The final results will not arrive quickly. Projects can run into mid-2027. Yet the grant call already shows the direction of travel. Spain is building a stronger evidence file before it writes the next layer of gambling controls. The main risk for the industry is clear: future rules could be harder to challenge if Spain supports them with fresh publicly funded research.
