DGOJ: Europe Should Adopt PACS to Crack Down on Identity Theft in iGaming

Spain’s Directorate General for the Regulation of Gambling (DGOJ) has warned about the dangers of identity theft associated with online gambling. At a recent international conference, representatives of the DGOJ shared their experience and recommended the adoption of the fairly fresh PACS protocol.

The DGOJ Advised Regulators to Adopt PACS

At the Gambling Commission Spring Conference, the UK regulator welcomed representatives of various European industry authorities. The conference provided networking opportunities and allowed European regulators to share their experiences with various issues.

One of those issues was identity theft, which has become an increasingly bigger problem as online gaming has grown. The DGOJ hosted the Identity Theft in Online Gambling: The Experience in Spain presentation, highlighting the country’s own struggles with the issue.

According to the DGOJ, PACS, the Action Protocol for Impersonated Taxpayers has helped Spain minimize its identity theft issues. The protocol was introduced in collaboration with the State Security Forces and Corps, and Agencia Tributaria (AEAT), a Spanish tax agency and seeks to help Spanish citizens whose tax information has been compromised through online gambling-related identity theft.

PACS was established last year and has so far proven to be a resounding success. According to its statistics, approximately 5% of online gamblers who have won over 100 Euros via iGaming have had their identity stolen.

The DGOJ therefore recommended a wider adoption of the PACS protocol, urging the European community of regulators to leverage its capabilities to identify and tackle identify theft.

DGOJ Identified Almost 8K Cases of Identity theft in 2024

For context, the DGOJ identified a staggering 7,712 cases of identity theft in online gambling in 2024 alone. A report from the Ministry of Social Rights, Consumption and 2030 Agenda understood that 91% of all complaints of identity theft were related to sports betting.

The DGOJ previously warned operators that hackers are becoming more and more sophisticated, leveraging hi-tech tools to compromise player data and impersonate others.

This has allowed fraudsters to avoid paying taxes on their actual winnings. This type of fraud came as a response to AEAT’s decision to enforce stricter oversight on ensuring players are reporting their winnings.

In the meantime, the Spanish regulator noted that hackers usually display certain patterns, such as placing many bets over extended play sessions.  

A month ago, the DGOJ welcomed Spanish operators and regulators to discuss AML hurdles in the country. The meeting was hosted in partnership with the Treasury and the financial intelligence agency Sepblac and was hosted in Madrid.