In review: licensing and taxation of gambling activities in Spain
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The main laws and regulation of gambling matters on a national level are as follows.
In review is licensing and taxation of gambling activities in Spain. General regulations are: Gambling Act No. 13/2011, dated May 26, Royal Decree No 1613/ 2011 of 14 November, establishing technical requirements for gaming activities, and Royal decree No 958/2020 of 3 November.
In review: licensing and taxation of gambling activities in Spain. Gambling Act No. 13/2011, dated May 26, Royal Decree No 1613/ 2011 of 14 November, establishing technical requirements for gaming activities, and Royal decree No 958/2020 of 3 November.
Games regulations are: Ministerial Order No. EHA/3080/2011 of 8 November, approving the basic regulations of fixed odds sports betting, Ministerian Order/EHA /3081/ 2011 of November and Ministerier Order HAP/1369/2014 of 25 July. The games regulations also include the games of baccarat, poker, bingo, supplementary games, contests and export betting.
In review: licensing and taxation of gambling activities in Spain. Ministerial Order No. EHA/3080/2011 of 8 November, approving the basic regulations of fixed odds sports betting. Ministerical Order E HA/3/11/2014 of 25 July, approves the regulations on export betting and slots.
Land based gambling is a competence of each of the 17 autonomous regions of Spain. The main venues for land based betting are casinos, bingo halls, arcades and betting shops. In casinos the games permitted are roulette, blackjack, poker, thirty and forty, dice or craps, chemin de fer, and type C slot machines. Bingo salons are limited to bingos and a limited number of type B slots machines, betting stores only sports and social betting. Lottery shops or kiosks are available, but the number is limited and depends on the authorisation from the lottery operators. Remote gambling activities offered by Spanish licensed operators must be addressed to Spanish citizens or residents only. Offshore operators without Spanish licences must use an IP geo-localization system to prevent non Spanish residents accessing to their platforms.
Madrid has several laws on gambling and betting. Andalusia has a law on it. Balearic Islands have a Law on Gambling and Betting. Catalonia has Law 15/1984 of 20 March 1984 on betting in Catalonia Region. Valencia has law 1/2020 of 11 June on the regulation of gambling in the Valencian Community.
There are no restrictions on payment mechanism for gambling in Spain. The integration of the operator platform and the payment services provider has to be certified. It is forbidden for the gambling operators to provide credit or financial support to players.
The integration of the operator platform and the payment services provider has to be certified in order to guarantee the security and traceability. It is forbidden for the gambling operators to provide credit or financial support to players.
All online gambling operators are required to pay gaming tax on a quarterly basis. The taxable event is the authorisation, celebration or organisation of games, raffles, contests, bets and random combinations at the state level. In the case of crossed bets or games in which the taxpayers do not gain the amounts placed as own income, but simply transfer them to winning players, the taxable base is also the commission for services related to the gaming activities.
The Spanish tax authorities published a ruling (No. V3347/2019) interpreting this rule. It states that amounts devoted to play include all bets, all amounts for the organisation or celebration of the games and all prizes awarded by the operator to the players. In poker games, the taxable base is made up of amount resulting from deducting the guaranteed and paid prizes from the gross gaming revenue.
' amounts devoted to play' includes all registered bets, whether made with money deposited by the player or with bonuses and all amounts obtained for the organisation or celebration of the games. 'Prizes awarded by operator to the players' include any reward given to players for success of a game.
Gambling is a value added tax-exempt activity in Spain. The tax rate depends on the sort of game and the taxable base. There is 50% reduction in the applicable gambling tax rates for operators established in autonomous cities Ceuta or Melilla. Online gambling operators are subject to gambling duty. The gambling duties are 0.75% of the gross operating income accrued at 31 December each year. Gambling operators resident in Spanish territory would be subject of corporate income tax on their worldwide income at a 25% general tax Rate. Lotteries organised by the Spanish Red Cross or the National Organisation of Blind People are not subject for a 20% withholding on amounts exceeding €40,000.
Betting, raffles, contests and other games are 20% over net income. Sport betting organised at a state level is 22%. Random combinations for advertising purposes are 10% of the market value of prizes offered or advantages granted to participants.
