Spanish regulator unveils Phishing Alert service
New ID alert service will prevent unauthorised player accounts being created
Spain’s gambling regulator has unveiled its first so-called ‘Phishing Alert’ service which informs citizens when their identity data is used on licensed gambling sites without their consent.
Under the new voluntary service from the Directorate General for the Regulation of Gambling (DGOJ), any attempt to activate a duplicate or new account on a Spanish licensed site where that individual is already registered will be automatically flagged up to the player.
Any Spanish citizen with a national ID number or a tax identification number can sign up to the service, whether that individual is registered with an existing operator or not.
Individuals can register online or in person at any registered government office or post office. In the case of online, registrations are immediate, while in-person registrations will be processed within three days.
Upon registration, the individual will be provided with a status report confirming all current existing verification checks made against them. Upon the registration of a new account with one of the participating operators, the individual receives an updated report.
Registrations are made indefinitely, however the user can choose to discontinue the service if desired.
As part of the rollout of the scheme the DGOJ has produced two accompanying videos explaining how players and citizens can utilise the service.
The service is voluntary for all Spain licenced operators, and the DGOJ has said operators including 888, GVC, Flutter, and Paf have already signed up to share their data.
Any operator which signs up to the service is obliged to investigate any alerts raised to determine if the players identity has been stolen and must block all user registration attempts made in cases where ID theft is established.
However the DGOJ has said bet365, Betfred, JPJ Group, Marathonbet and William Hill have not chosen to sign up to the service.
The service has two stated objectives, strengthening existing operator controls against ID data misuse and protecting consumers from identity theft and fraud. The DGOJ have also said that it hopes that the service will prevent gambling online by minors using relatives details.
