Gambling Regulatory Deadlines to Watch in January 2026

Each month, we leverage data from our gambling regulatory updates to bring you a glimpse of the key response deadlines and legislation effective dates coming up, so you can plan and take action around some of the most important regulatory developments unfolding right now.

For the remainder of January, there are 14 regulatory deadlines on the horizon — with 7 key consultation periods coming to an end and requiring a response and 2 actionable deadlines to be aware of coming into effect.

What are the regulatory deadlines to watch in January?

Brazil

On December 1, 2025, Brazil's Prizes and Betting Secretariat under the Ministry of Finance (SPA-MF) opened a public consultation regarding the development of the SPA-MF's 2026-2027 regulatory agenda.

The public consultation will gather public comments and information from relevant stakeholders to inform the development of the SPA-MF's new regulatory agenda for 2026-2027, establishing the regulator's priorities and prospective timelines. Interested parties can submit their opinions through this link.

The consultation period opened on December 1, 2025 and will last for a 45-day period, ending on January 14, 2026. The SPA-MF is required to publish the results of the consultation on January 30, 2026.

Romania

On December 15, 2025, Law No. 239 on Establishing Measures to Redress and Streamline Public Revenues was published in the Romanian official gazette.

The law, which amends several pieces of legislation, including the Gambling Act, amends and clarifies the previous changes brought to the Gambling Act by means of Law No. 141/2025 in July 2025, aiming to combat illegal gambling activities in the country.

The law, as passed in the official gazette, stipulates the following:

1. All gambling suppliers (Class 2 licensees) will be prohibited from offering their services to unlicensed/unauthorised online gambling operators that offer Romanian content or content in an international language and accept deposits and withdrawals in RON, other currency or crypto-assets and allow access to Romania-based players on their websites/gaming platforms.
2. All gambling suppliers (Class 2 licensees) will be prohibited from offering their services to blacklisted internet domains if access to gambling is not restricted for Romania-based players.
3. Suppliers producing and/or distributing specialised gambling software, offering management and hosting facilities on their gambling platform and payment processors will have to block the access to the IT system for Romania-based players participating in illegal gambling and request the illegal operator to rectify the situation.
4. Slot machines and VLTs have to be equipped with geolocation systems allowing the localisation of the gaming device on Romanian territory (during storage, transit, maintenance or use).
5. Autonomous betting terminals can be used exclusively for land-based betting activities.
   

The amendments enter into force on December 18, 2025. The provision regarding slot machines and VLTs to be equipped with geolocation systems will become effective on January 21, 2026.

South Africa

On November 25, 2025, the South African National Treasury published the draft national online gambling tax discussion paper for public comment.

The discussion paper contains an overview of the gambling industry in South Africa, highlighting the current legislative framework for online gambling in the country, while including international practices on the taxation of online gambling. It acknowledges the evolution of the country's gambling industry while stressing upon the problem gambling and social issues as challenges, which require continued monitoring and responsive regulation. 

The treasury has proposed a 20 percent tax on the gross gambling revenue of the online and interactive gambling industry. The discussion paper is open for public comments, which can be sent by emailing to gamblingtax@treasury.gov.za by close of business on January 30, 2026

Spain

On October 17, 2025, Spain notified the European Commission of a draft royal decree amending Royal Decree No. 1614/2011 on the Implementation of Law No. 13/2011 on Gamblingand Royal Decree No. 176/2023 on Safer Gambling Environments.

The proposed amendments to the Royal Decree No. 1614/2011 include, among others:

1. New deposit limits for online gambling players that have several gambling accounts opened with different gambling operators. The joint daily deposit limit is to be set at €700, the weekly joint deposit limit is to be set at €1,750 and the monthly joint deposit limit is to be set at €3,300.
2. The Directorate General for the Regulation of Gambling (DGOJ) will be responsible for the management of the system for joint deposit limits.
3. Changes to the type of financial guarantees required under Article 43 of the royal decree.
4. An increase in the amount of the guarantee for a general licence during the initial period to €2.5m, with the exception of the guarantee for contests which increases to €640,000. Additionally, the value of the financial guarantee, reduced beginning in year two and onwards, will be set at €1.25m. In the specific case of the guarantee for the operation of contests, the value of the financial guarantee from year two will increase to €320,000.
   

The proposed amendments to Royal Decree No. 176/2023 on Safer Gambling Environments will require online gambling licensees to make express reference to the system of joint deposits within the safer gambling information they provide on their websites.

The proposed amendments concerning the system for joint deposits are scheduled to enter into force six months after publication in the official gazette. The DGOJ will make available a test version of the system for joint deposit limits for licensees, four months before the entry into force of these provisions.

The proposed amendments concerning the increase in the financial guarantees will enter into force on January 1 of the year following publication in the official gazette. Licensed entities will have to increase the guarantees they have set up to the newly established thresholds. 

The notification's standstill period ends on January 20, 2026.

United Kingdom

In its e-bulletin dated July 28, 2025, the UK Gambling Commission announced that it has extended the implementation date of the new product promotion rules to January 19, 2026, from December 19, 2025.

The following new rules were initially announced in March 2025:

• Mixed product promotion ban: Gambling businesses will be banned from offering potentially harmful offers involving consumers having to carry out two or more types of gambling, such as betting and playing slots.
• Limiting bonus wagering requirements to ten: The requirements will limit the number of times bonus funds must be re-staked before the consumer can withdraw winnings from the bonus. Limiting the wagering requirement to ten shall reduce the likelihood of harm, complexity and improve the transparency while maintaining consumer choice.

The commission will re-structure and re-word the Social Responsibility (SR) Code 5.1.1 (Rewards and Bonuses). The implementation date has been extended following industry request and allows the industry more time to get acquainted with the changes.

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