Spain’s DGOJ Fines Zona Gemelos for Promoting Illegal Casino

Spain’s gambling regulator has fined the production company behind one of the country’s most popular online reality channels. Make Money Now SA, which produces content under the Zona Gemelos brand, promoted a gambling operator that holds no Spanish licence. The DGOJ fined Zona Gemelos’ parent company after finding affiliate-style promotions and commercial links spread across the channel’s social platforms. That action sits within a broader Q1 2026 crackdown, which produced nine enforcement rulings and over €10 million in total penalties.

A Channel Built on Reality Content

Make Money Now SA produces livestreamed reality programming, including The House of the Twins and The Prison of the Twins. The company broadcasts all of it through the Zona Gemelos brand across multiple social platforms. Its audience is large, and that reach is exactly what drew regulatory attention. Investigators found commercial communications and affiliate links pointing to an unlicensed gambling operator. Those links had spread across the channel’s Instagram, Kick, X, and Discord accounts.

The DGOJ classified the activity as a serious violation of Spain’s Law 13/2011 on Gambling Regulation. Unlicensed operators fall outside the consumer protection rules that licensed Spanish brands must follow. So the regulator made clear that promoting them carries real consequences, regardless of whether the promoter is a traditional gambling affiliate or an entertainment production company.

Youth Exposure Raised as a Core Concern

The DGOJ did not treat this as a licensing technicality. Regulators raised specific concerns about gambling promotions reaching platforms with significant youth viewership. Unregulated operators are not bound by Spain’s responsible gambling standards, and entertainment channels amplify that risk considerably when they mix gambling promotion into their content.

This concern also connects to the regulator’s wider priorities. Last month, the DGOJ published its Safe Gambling Programme 2026–2030. That programme focuses on understanding how social media shapes gambling behaviour, and it includes plans to build tools for detecting risky patterns early. The Zona Gemelos case fits directly into that agenda. It is a clear example of the cross-platform, content-led gambling promotion the programme aims to stamp out.

A Fine Reduced After Swift Action

The original penalty against Make Money Now SA was €10,000. However, the company acted quickly once the investigation surfaced. It removed the infringing content, acknowledged responsibility, and made a voluntary regulatory settlement payment. Those steps triggered penalty reductions available under Spain’s administrative procedure law, known as LPACAP. As a result, the regulator reduced the fine to €6,000.

The reduction reflects procedural credit, not any dispute over the facts. The DGOJ was clear that a serious violation had taken place. Make Money Now SA simply handled the aftermath in a way that met the conditions for a lower sanction.

Part of a Larger Enforcement Push

The DGOJ fine against the Zona Gemelos production company is one piece of a much larger picture. Across its nine Q1 2026 rulings, the DGOJ imposed a combined €10.29 million in sanctions. Two of those cases were very serious and together accounted for €10 million of the total. Both involved offshore operators that had been illegally offering betting services in Spain without a licence for two years.

Enforcement has also grown more visible since a 2021 amendment to the Gambling Regulation Act required public disclosure of sanctions. Since then, the DGOJ has issued 221 sanctions totalling over €506 million. The message has stayed consistent: operating outside Spain’s licensing framework, or promoting those who do, comes with a serious financial cost.

An Expanding Definition of Accountability

What makes this case stand out is who received the fine. Make Money Now SA is not a rogue affiliate site or a shell company. It is a legitimate media production business that crossed into gambling promotion, most likely through a commercial deal with an unlicensed operator. But the DGOJ pursued it under gambling advertising law regardless. That signals the regulator is not limiting its focus to obvious industry players.

Entertainment and gambling promotion continue to blur together across social media. Spain, for its part, appears determined to hold every link in that chain accountable.