New Spanish Research Funding Announced
Spain’s gambling regulator has opened a new research funding round worth €950,620, with grants aimed at projects studying gambling-related harm, risk and prevention.
The call was published in Spain’s official state bulletin, the Boletín Oficial del Estado, on 20 May 2026. It covers research linked to the prevention of gambling disorders, the effects of those disorders and wider risks associated with gambling activity.
The programme will be administered through Spain’s Dirección General de Ordenación del Juego (DGOJ), the national gambling regulator. iGaming Business reported that the funding forms part of the Spanish Ministry of Social Rights, Consumer Affairs and Agenda 2030’s latest competitive grant programme for gambling-related research.
Who Can Apply?
The official notice says eligible applicants include public research centres, public universities, certain health institutions, private research centres, private universities with research capacity, and non-profit entities that meet the programme’s requirements. Applicants must have tax residence in Spain or a permanent establishment in Spanish territory.
The notice also places restrictions on non-profit applicants. In particular, such organisations must have research or research dissemination among their objectives and must not have gambling operators on their governing bodies.
Six Research Priorities
The grant call identifies six research lines. These include the early detection of people showing risky or more severe gambling behaviour, the individual, family or social harm linked to gambling, and the development of tools or processes designed to reduce negative consequences.
Other eligible areas include links between video games and gambling, the structural characteristics of lotteries, games of chance, poker and betting, and gender-related impacts on risky or severe gambling behaviour.
Projects funded through the round cannot start before 1 January 2026 and must end no later than 30 June 2027. Applications are open for one month from the day after publication in the state bulletin.
Part Of A Wider Safer Gambling Agenda
The funding round follows the DGOJ’s publication of its Safe Gambling Programme 2026–2030, which sets out a broader framework for analysis, prevention and safer gambling measures in Spain.
That programme says the regulator wants to expand knowledge of gambling activity and its effects on society, with particular attention on vulnerable participants and risk groups. It also highlights newer issues for regulators, including social media, artificial intelligence and video games.
The DGOJ’s 2026–2030 programme is structured around three priorities, six general objectives and 24 specific measures. It states that continued analysis and diagnosis are needed so regulators can adapt safer gambling policy to changing behaviour and technology.
