Spain's state lottery operator bans online players from outside the country

Spain's state lottery and betting operator Loterías y Apuestas del Estado (SELEA) has banned people from gambling online from outside the country.

In an email sent out on Tuesday 19 September the lottery operator said this would affect anyone who used the Loterías y Apuestas del Estado website.

"As a result of the published regulations that intensify fraud prevention measures and within the scope of our authorisation for gambling in Spain, SELAE, in its commitment to the security of online gambling, will proceed to activate new controls in the coming weeks, including certain geoblocking filters so that it will not be possible to carry out financial transactions to charge the gambling account or bet through the website or the app from outside Spain," it said.

"It may also result in the complete disabling of access to the platform from those territories whose authorities have required the introduction of the ban. We therefore fulfil our obligation to periodically update our security protocols as a state-wide gaming operator," it added.

The website now warns users: "If you are planning to travel outside Spain, remember that you can subscribe in advance to your bets by maintaining a sufficient balance in your gaming account so that your bets continue to be placed weekly".