Spain sets up a new anti-money laundering authority, and gaming operators are on the fee schedule

Spain’s Ministry of Economy is replacing a fragmented AML structure with the Autoridad Nacional de Integridad Financiera (ANIFI), which would take over financial intelligence, supervision, inspection, and sanctions. For gaming operators, the important part is not just the new regulator, but the new funding model: licensed entities in gambling, payments, and crypto will help pay for it.

1. The Spanish Government announced the creation of the Autoridad Nacional de Integridad Financiera (ANIFI) at the end of July. The new body will concentrate powers that are now split across SEPBLAC and other agencies, and it will assume financial intelligence, supervision, inspection, and sanctioning powers in one place.
2. The Government says ANIFI will have an annual budget of around 50 million euros for anti-money laundering work. The point, on paper, is to give the authority a more efficient and modern operating model than the current setup.
3. To fund that budget, the Ministry of Economy plans a specific levy for AML-obliged entities. The list includes financial institutions and brokers, insurers and asset managers, payment institutions and cryptoasset platforms, and gambling operators, both land-based and online.
4. The charge will not be a flat fee. It will be calculated based on each obliged entity’s total assets, with a cap of 1.5 million euros per entity per year. The levy is scheduled to accrue on 1 February each year, and notaries and registrars are explicitly excluded from payment.
5. There is also a secondary funding route: ANIFI would be allowed to keep up to 10% of the fines it collects, but only if that amount does not exceed 5% of its annual budget. Any excess would go straight to the public treasury.

The draft law is still in public consultation, so the final model can change during the legislative process. Operators affected by the proposal, including gambling companies, have until 30 September 2026 to submit comments and proposals to the Ministry.