Licensed bookmakers in Spain according to the DGOJ

What does "licensed in Spain" actually mean?

In Spain, only operators holding licences from the Dirección General de Ordenación del Juego (DGOJ) can offer online sports betting. The DGOJ sits under Spain's Ministry of Social Rights, Consumer Affairs and 2030 Agenda. It regulates the national online gambling market, issues the licences and publishes the register of licensed operators.

The list above covers fixed-odds sports betting only. An operator licensed just for online casino, bingo or poker won't show up there. A licence tells you one thing: the operator is allowed to offer the activity it covers. It doesn't promise the best odds. It doesn't rule out disputes. And it certainly doesn't mean your bets will pay off.

Two layers of licence

Spain splits authorisation into two levels. The DGOJ first issues a general licence for each game family, such as the "apuestas" (betting) family. Then it issues a singular licence for each specific modality inside that family.

For betting, the singular modalities include contrapartida (fixed odds), pool betting, exchange betting, and sports and horse-race betting. If you're after fixed-odds sports betting, the one that matters is the singular licence "Apuestas Deportivas de Contrapartida". The register shows the legal name of the company holding it. That name can differ from the brand you know, and the company may run one or more .es domains. A licence from another country doesn't replace the Spanish one.

I like how granular this is. You can't just wave a vague "licensed in Spain" around. You have to look at which modality is covered, and for which domain.

Why some licensed bookmakers aren't tracked by OddScore

The regulatory list and OddScore's coverage answer two different questions. The DGOJ tells you which operators are allowed to offer sports betting in Spain. OddScore tells you which operators are currently plugged into its odds comparison.

So a bookmaker can be fully licensed and still not be tracked by OddScore. It works the other way too. The "Tracked by OddScore" badge never replaces a check with the regulator. It only means the platform compares some of that operator's odds.

Checking a licence yourself

No third-party list beats the official register. Here's how to check an authorisation:

1. Open the DGOJ register of operadores con licencia.
2. Search for the operator, the brand or the domain.
3. Check that it holds the singular fixed-odds sports betting licence.
4. Check that the domain you're using matches the one officially declared.
5. Check that the licence is active and hasn't been revoked.

The same method works in any jurisdiction, and it's laid out step by step in how to check that a bookmaker is licensed.

Bonuses and free bets: where the rules stand

Welcome and sign-up bonuses have been lawful again in Spain since the Supreme Court (Tribunal Supremo) ruling of 2 April 2024. That judgment struck down article 13.1 of Royal Decree 958/2020, which banned promotions aimed at winning new customers. It also struck down article 13.3, which limited where promotions could be advertised.

The rest of article 13 still applies. Promotions stay off limits for self-excluded players and for customers flagged as at-risk (art. 13.2). Promo ads can't make an offer look free. They have to state the minimum deposit, the wagering requirements (amount and number of times), the deadline for releasing the bonus, and whether it's withdrawable money or betting credit (art. 13.4). The operator's site also has to show conditions like the maximum stake and the minimum odds (art. 13.5).

Plenty of pages still describe the 2020 ban as if it were current. To work out what an offer is really worth, read how a free bet works.

Last verified at source: 11 October 2026.

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