Gambling addiction help in Spain

Verified helplines

Helplines and online chat

FEJAR — the Federación Española de Jugadores de Azar Rehabilitados — runs the national help and information line on 900 200 225, described on its site as "totalmente anónimo, gratuito y confidencial". Opening hours are not published, so treat it as a daytime service rather than an overnight crisis line.

FEJAR is a federation of local associations rather than a single clinic, and it also offers online therapy for people who cannot attend in person, help with filing self-exclusion, legal support, and a dedicated area for women. Its site is fejar.org.

Jugadores Anónimos, the Spanish Gamblers Anonymous fellowship, publishes a 24-hour number, +34 670 691 513, and states that "no hay que pagar cuotas ni honorarios para ser miembro". It holds in-person groups in Madrid, Barcelona, Valencia, Bilbao, Sevilla, Santander, Cádiz, Albacete, Cartagena and Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, plus Zoom meetings on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Fridays at 10:00 and Sundays at 19:00.

Self-exclusion

Spain's national ban register is the Registro General de Interdicciones de Acceso al Juego (RGIAJ), held by the Dirección General de Ordenación del Juego. Once you are on it, licensed online operators are notified automatically and must refuse you access; Ley 13/2011 requires them to verify each player's identity and check the register before letting anyone play.

Four ways to register, per the DGOJ:

• Through the DGOJ electronic office with a digital certificate or Cl@ve — the DGOJ states this route "takes immediate effect".
• With the mobile app "DNIe autoprohibidos", currently Android only, which needs a DNIe 3.0 and NFC on the phone.
• In person, on a paper form, at the registry of any public administration.
• At National Police stations or at the admissions desk of a gaming establishment.

Duration works differently from most European schemes. The DGOJ states "la inscripción será por tiempo indefinido": there is no fixed term to choose and no expiry date. What is fixed is the floor — cancellation can only be requested once six months have passed since registration, through the electronic office.

The gap the RGIAJ does not cover

The RGIAJ is a state register, and gambling powers in Spain are split. It blocks state-regulated online gambling and in-person games where regional rules require you to be identified first. Casinos, bingo halls and slot arcades are licensed by the autonomous communities, and each community keeps its own separate ban register with its own rules — the DGOJ notes Castilla-La Mancha as the exception, with an automated interconnection that makes the two function as one. Everywhere else, registering in the RGIAJ does not automatically bar you from a casino floor: you have to file with your community as well. If you are moving between countries, self-exclusion by country explains which schemes travel and which do not.

Blocking gambling payments and sites

A ban register works on operators, not on your phone. It does nothing about unlicensed sites, which are the ones people drift to after a self-exclusion, and it does nothing about the impulse at 2am. Device-level blocking software is the second layer, and it is worth installing on the same day you file the RGIAJ form — see blocking apps for iOS and Android.

Whether your bank can block gambling payments on your card varies by bank in Spain, and there is no national scheme to point to, so ask your own bank what card controls it offers rather than assuming. If money has already gone, deal with the debt structure before any repayment plan: what to do about gambling debt.

The DGOJ publishes the list of operators licensed to serve players in Spain, which is the way to tell a regulated site from one that will ignore your self-exclusion entirely.

Free treatment and counselling

Addiction treatment in Spain is organised regionally, so what you are offered depends on where you live. The Ministry of Health's Plan Nacional sobre Drogas publishes a public directory, "Ayuda. Cerca de ti: Centros de Atención a las adicciones", for finding an addiction care centre near you; gambling is handled under addictive behaviours rather than as a separate service. Ask about cost and waiting time when you call, because both vary by autonomous community.

Two routes cost nothing at the point of contact. FEJAR's member associations provide psychological intervention for gambling disorder and online therapy for people who cannot travel, and its helpline is free. Jugadores Anónimos meetings have no fees or dues at all, and the only requirement for membership is the wish to stop gambling.

If you are not sure whether what you are dealing with counts as a disorder, the self-test and the list of signs of gambling addiction are a reasonable place to start before the first call.

Support for family and friends

FEJAR's associations work with relatives as well as with people who gamble, and its legal support covers member associations and the people who come to them. Jugadores Anónimos publishes its 24-hour number openly, so a partner or parent can call it to ask how the fellowship works before anyone attends a meeting.

One concrete thing a family member can do in Spain: help the person file the RGIAJ form through the electronic office, since it takes effect immediately and the six-month floor means it cannot be undone in a bad moment that evening. Further practical steps are in how to help someone with a gambling addiction.

Gambling law and the regulator

Online and state-level gambling in Spain is regulated by the Dirección General de Ordenación del Juego under Ley 13/2011. Article 6.2 of that law bars two groups from taking part: "los menores de edad y los incapacitados legalmente o por resolución judicial", and "las personas que voluntariamente hubieren solicitado que les sea prohibido el acceso al juego o que lo tengan prohibido por resolución judicial firme". Article 17.2 requires operators' technical systems to verify who is playing and to check them against the RGIAJ.

The minimum age is therefore 18, the age of majority in Spain, and licensed operators must verify it at registration. Land-based casinos, bingo and arcades fall to the autonomous communities, which set their own admission and exclusion rules on top of the national framework.