Spain and eight European regulators tighten betting and prediction-market supervision for the 2026 FIFA World Cup

Spain, France, Germany, Italy, Portugal, Belgium, the Netherlands, Poland and Switzerland have signed a joint institutional declaration to step up oversight of sports betting and prediction markets during the 2026 FIFA World Cup. For PSPs and operators, the important bit is simple: this is cross-border regulatory coordination aimed at platforms that sit outside the legal framework, with licensing, advertising, player-protection and site-blocking actions all on the table.

1. Spain’s Ministry of Social Rights, Consumer Affairs and the 2030 Agenda will apply the declaration through the Dirección General de Ordenación del Juego (DGOJ), which says it will intensify monitoring of the online gambling market throughout the tournament to protect consumers and preserve betting integrity.
2. The DGOJ will focus on whether operators comply with existing licensing, advertising and player-protection rules. Where platforms operate outside the applicable regulations, it can open administrative investigations, impose possible sanctions and order precautionary website blocking when appropriate.
3. The declaration gives special attention to prediction markets, which let users bet on the outcome of future events and, in several European countries, operate without the required authorisations. The regulators say these platforms are prone to problematic gambling behaviour because they offer 24/7 access, lack effective time or stake limits, and have insufficient age-verification controls.
4. Spain had already moved on this front before the declaration was signed. The Ministry opened sanction proceedings against Polymarket and Kalshi and ordered precautionary blocking of their websites for operating in the country without the mandatory administrative authorisation.
5. The declaration also calls on sports federations, leagues, clubs and teams to verify the legal status of companies they sign commercial or sponsorship agreements with. The message from the authorities is clear enough: those partnerships must comply with each country’s law, which rules out deals with unauthorised operators.

For high-risk payment providers, the practical takeaway is that World Cup-related traffic will not just attract more volume; it will attract more scrutiny. Betting and prediction-market flows touching Spain and the other signatory jurisdictions now face a tighter compliance lens on licensing status, advertising, player protection and, if needed, site access restrictions.