Murcia proposes identity checks across gambling venues and hospitality areas

The Region of Murcia is preparing a joint reform of five regional gambling regulations that would require identity checks before entry to casinos, gaming halls, bingo halls and betting shops, according to the report. The draft 2026 decree, prepared by the Region of Murcia's tax agency, would extend the checks to bar and café areas, including for visitors who do not intend to gamble. No person would be able to enter a venue or its bar or café areas without first proving identity by DNI, passport, foreigner identity card or driving licence.

Checks could be carried out by venue staff or by automated technical systems such as readers or biometric devices, provided they are approved and connected in real time to the General Gambling Register. The control would apply to all visitors whether or not they gamble, with the aim of preventing access by minors and by people on the register of prohibitions. Licence holders would be responsible for ensuring compliance with these obligations.

Under the draft, venues would keep a computerised access register listing each visitor's full name, birth date, identity document type and number, and the precise time of entry. That data would be treated as reserved, with casinos and bingo halls holding it for six months and gaming halls and betting shops for twelve months.

Gaming halls and betting shops would be allowed only one sign per façade, showing the name and type of business and with a maximum area of two square metres. Signs and images evoking casino-exclusive games would be prohibited, as would exterior advertising showing games, bets, sportspeople or famous people linked to events on which bets can be placed. Bar and café services could not be visible or advertised from outside, and where these areas are separate from the gaming space, gaming machines could not be visible from them. Minors and people on the register of prohibitions would be barred from these areas.

Venues would have to display visible posters warning that abusive gambling can cause gambling disorder and provide screens or electronic panels with prevention messages prepared and updated periodically by the regional health ministry.

Admission services and computer systems would have to be installed and approved within three months of the decree taking effect. Venues would have two months to remove exterior advertising that does not meet the new conditions and to adapt their façades. People already on the register of prohibitions before the decree takes effect could ask voluntarily for their restriction to cover all types of gambling and venues in the region, even if it was initially limited to one type of venue. The measures form part of a draft regulation and would depend on its passage through procedure and the final wording of the decree before becoming binding obligations.