Below is the list of the most frequent regulatory queries:
Under Law 13/2011 of 27 May on Gambling Regulation (hereinafter, LRJ), gambling activity means any activity in which sums of money or items of economic value in whatever form are staked on future and uncertain results, depending on chance to some extent, and which allow these sums to be transferred between the participants, regardless of whether the skill level of the gamblers is decisive in the results or whether they wholly or fundamentally on luck, stakes or chance.
Therefore, for an activity to fall under the scope of the LRJ, the following three criteria must be met at the same time:
1. PAYMENT to participate. Some payment must be made to participate.
For this reason, the concept of gambling activity excludes all those activities which, although they include the other two elements of the gambling activity, are carried out free of charge.
2. CHANCE in determining the result.
The outcome on which the amounts of money or economically evaluable objects are put at risk must be in the future and uncertain and depend on chance to some extent. The rules of each game or activity of chance will specify at which moment the result is subject to chance.
Those activities in which chance is not understandable as determining the result to some extent will not be considered gambling activities (for example: the awarding of a prize after assessment by a jury appointed ad hoc and prior to the activity).
3. PRIZE given to the winning participant.
The consequence of being the winner in a gambling activity is the transfer of the money or economically assessable object or its addition to the winning participant’s wealth. The prizes may be in cash or kind depending on the form of gambling. If there is no prize, there is no chance gambling activity.
General conditions
1. Those interested in carrying on non-occasional gambling activities must obtain a general licence for each form of gambling they intend to market prior to carrying out any type of gambling.
2. Likewise, the operation of each type of gambling under the scope of each general licence will require a specific operation licence to be granted.
Requirements and costs to obtain a general licence
3. Obtaining any general licence is done through the procedure to grant general licences set out through a Ministerial Order. Thus, the current terms of reference for the call were approved by Order HFP/1227/2017, of 5 December, and published in the Official Gazette of the Spanish State on 16 December 2017.
4. These terms of reference specified the requirements with which licence applicants must comply in terms of legal personality, share capital, corporate purpose, etc.
5. Licence applicants must be public limited companies in Spain or the equivalent from a European Economic Area country, with minimum share capital of sixty thousand euros and with its single corporate purpose being the organisation, marketing and operation of gambling.
6. It also specifies the documentation to be submitted by the interested parties with their requests for general licences, as well as the content of the Operational Plan to be submitted by the applicants and the content of the requesting operator’s technical plan.
7. The technical systems for applications must be adapted to the provisions of Royal Decree 1613/2011 of 14 November, implementing the technical requirements of gambling activities under Law 13/2011, of 27 May, on Gambling Regulation and its implementing regulations, especially the Resolution of 6 October 2014, from the Directorate-General for the Regulation of Gambling, approving the regulation which elaborates on the technical specifications for gambling, traceability and security that must be met by the non-reserved technical gambling systems licensed under Law 13/2011, of 27 May, on Gambling Regulation.
8. Applications for general licences and their supporting documentation must be submitted electronically through the procedure set out in the Electronic Office of the Directorate-General for the Regulation of Gambling. The deadline for submitting applications, as per the terms of reference, will be 17 December 2018 at 1:00 p.m.
Once the deadline for submitting applications has passed, it will not be possible to submit a request for a general licence until a new call is made.
9. Interested operators must submit the document demonstrating proof of provision of the guarantee associated with each general licence applied for and the time of submitting their application. The amount of the guarantee to be provided is two million euros for the submission of an application for a general licence except in the case of a general licence for contests where the amount is five hundred thousand euros.
10. In terms of the Fees for gambling administration to be paid when submitting an application for a general licence, these are as follows:
11. The time limit for resolving submitted applications is six months from the day following their submission. Administrative silence shall constitute approval of the application.
12. Four months from the date of granting the general licence, operators must submit a final certification report on the operator’s technical systems in the manner and under the conditions established in Royal Decree 1613/2011 of 14 November and in the Directorate-General for the Regulation of Gambling Resolution of 6 October 2014 approving the provision establishing the model and content of the final certification report on gambling operators’ technical systems and implementing the change management procedure.
General conditions
1. Those interested in carrying on non-occasional gambling activities must obtain a general licence for each form of gambling they intend to market prior to carrying out any type of gambling.
2. Likewise, the operation of each type of gambling under the scope of each general licence will require a specific operation licence to be granted.
Requirements and costs to obtain a specific licence
3. Order HFP/1227/2017, of 5 December provides the possibility of those interested in submitting applications for general licences simultaneously applying for specific licences corresponding to the types of gambling linked to these specific licences. The eventual granting of these specific licences will be subject to the general licence to which they are linked being granted.
4. Should requests for specific licences not be submitted at the same time as the general licences, it will not be possible to submit them until the latter have been granted.
5. The procedure to request specific licences is governed by the Directorate-General for the Regulation of Gambling Resolution of 1 December 2017 setting out the application and issuing procedure for Specific Licences to carry on and operate different types of gambling activities.
6. Additional guarantees corresponding to the specific licences at the time of submitting the applications will not be necessary.
7. In terms of the Fees for gambling administration to pay when submitting applications for specific licences, they are as follows:
8. The time limit for resolving submitted applications is six months from the day following their submission. Administrative silence shall constitute approval of the application.
9. Four months from the date of granting the specific licence, operators must submit a final certification report on the operator’s technical systems in the manner and under the conditions pursuant to Royal Decree 1613/2011 of 14 November and in the Directorate-General for the Regulation of Gambling Resolution of 6 October 2014 approving the provision setting the model and content of the final certification report on gambling operators’ technical systems and develops the change management procedure.
Concept of a raffle
1. A raffle is understood as a form of gambling awarding one or more prizes in a draw or random selection on a predetermined date following the purchase of various physical, computer-related, telematic or interactive tickets, coupons or other documents or means of participation, with some form of financial outlay being required to take part.
2. Raffle prizes include movable or fixed assets, livestock or rights linked to them, but never monetary prizes.
Concept of a permanent or non-occasional raffle
3. A permanent or non-occasional raffle is understood as one held periodically or permanently or which forms part of the ordinary activity of a gambling operator, whenever its frequency is less than annual.
Can I run a permanent or non-occasional raffle?
4. As in any other gambling activity, running a permanent or non-occasional raffle will require the corresponding general and specific licences to be obtained beforehand pursuant to the provisions of the Law on Gambling Regulation and its implementing regulations.
5. However, the regulatory implementation for permanent raffles has not been carried out to date and, therefore, it is not possible to organise and market non-occasional raffles.
6. Therefore, in accordance with the regulations in force at the present time, conducting permanent or non-occasional raffles is prohibited.
More information on Raffles, occasional gambling and sweepstakes for advertising purposes
Concept of a raffle
1. A raffle is understood as a form of gambling awarding one or more prizes in a draw or random selection on a predetermined date following the purchase of various physical, computer-related, telematic or interactive tickets, coupons or other documents or means of participation, with some form of financial outlay being required to take part.
2. Raffle prizes include movable or fixed assets, livestock or rights linked to them, but never monetary prizes.
Occasional or sporadic raffles
3. Occasional or sporadic raffles are those not held periodically or permanently or, if held regularly, i.e. at least annually, they have the following conditions:
4. Therefore, an occasional raffle is that held infrequently or once a year at most whenever it does not form part of the ordinary activity of the organising natural or legal person.
Procedure to request authorisation
5. Holding occasional raffles requires the corresponding prior authorisation.
6. It is prohibited for minors to participate in gambling activities, both in the purchase and the sale of the means of participating. Minors participating in any of the raffle’s phases may give rise to a breach of the rules on gambling which could result in the corresponding administrative penalty.
7. Raffle authorisation requests may be submitted by natural or legal persons whose usual activity does not involve gambling activities.
8. Requests are submitted via the Directorate-General’s Electronic office using the Authorisations for Occasional Gambling (Raffles) procedure. Where requests are submitted by natural persons, the Administration may be notified non-electronically, submitting their applications and attached documentation to the Directorate-General for the Regulation of Gambling, C/ Atocha, 3, 28071, Madrid, in person or by post.
9. Requests must include information related to the person, company, entity or association wishing to hold the raffle, their notification address, and a request to carry out advertising, promotion or sponsorship activities.
10. Requests must be accompanied by supporting documentation on the following points:
11. The specific documents which must be submitted can be found on the Directorate-General for the Regulation of Gambling website.
Tax regime
12. The submission of authorisation requests for occasional raffles carries a Fee of 100 euros for gambling administration.
13. Natural or legal persons holding raffles are subject to the payment of gambling tax at a tax rate of 20% of net income from organising or holding the raffle. This rate may be 5% for raffles declared charitable or in the public interest.
14. A raffle may be declared as being in the public interest when the applicant is a public interest entity duly declared and registered in the Ministry of the Interior National Associations Register or similar of the Autonomous Regions. Likewise, the declaration of a raffle as a charitable or public interest raffle will be assessed when the applicant is a not-for-profit entity and the intended purpose of the funds is to be one of the activities set out for not-for-profit entities in the Law on tax incentives for patronage.
15. In addition, the natural or legal person holding and marketing the raffle will be obliged to comply with the obligations arising from Personal Income Tax, specifically the obligation on tax withholdings corresponding to the winner of the prize. This withholding is currently 19% of the market value of the prize offered in the raffle.
16. Likewise, the natural or legal person holding and organising the raffle must comply with their own tax obligations resulting from the possible loss or capital gain resulting from the raffle itself.
17. The State Tax Agency is responsible for managing, collecting, settling and inspecting the tax.
More information on Raffles, occasional gambling and sweepstakes for advertising purposes
Definition and main characteristics
1. A sweepstake for advertising or promotional purposes (hereinafter, CAFPP) is a type of draw that meets each of the following requirements:
a) Its purpose is to promote or publicise a product or service of any type.
b) The participant only has to use the product or service being advertised or promoted. That is, there is no other type of premium or specific pricing, beyond that derived from the consumption of the advertised or promoted product.
c) The draw in question is random.
d) As a result of the draw, the participant can obtain a prize, be it in cash, in kind, or a service.
2. Obtaining a licence or authorisation for a CAFPP is not required, nor is any prior notification of the Directorate-General for the Regulation of Gambling.
3. Should the draw not meet all the requirements set forth in section 1, either being a purely commercial or civil activity, or a gambling activity regulated under Law 13/2011, it could require specific authorisation from the Directorate-General for the Regulation of Gambling.
4. In any event, holding a CAFPP will additionally be subject to any applicable general rules of commercial and civil law, without prejudice to the specific tax treatment explained below.
Specific considerations on certain CAFPP
5. When all participants in the draw obtain a prize and, in addition, it is identical for all of them, the randomness of the CAFPP is not required. In this specific case, neither would there be a gambling activity subject to DGOJ authorisation and supervision as no element of chance exists.
6. When it is a jury that, prior to the activity, awards the prize, without there being any prior element of luck or chance, supplementary or subsequent to the decision or jury's opinion, the randomness required of the CAFPP does not exist.
Tax treatment
7. Natural and legal persons who run the CAFPP are subject to Gambling Tax, under the conditions and rate set forth in Law 13/2011.
The tax rate amounts to 10% of the total market value of the prizes offered or advantages granted to participants.
The management, collection, settlement and inspection of taxes corresponding to sweepstakes for advertising or promotional purposes is the responsibility of the State Tax Agency (AEAT).
For administrative tax settlement requests, the CAFPP’s organisers should contact any State Tax Agency office or branch.
The documentation required to settle the Tax on Gambling Activities will be the one set by the State Tax Agency. In any case, as a minimum, the identification of the natural or legal person subject to the tax as a taxpayer, a copy of the CAFPP's rules and the justification for determining the market value of the prizes offered or advantages granted is required.
Once notified of the administrative settlement made, the payment must be made in the manner and within the deadlines set by the State Tax Agency.
8. Winners of a prize resulting from participating in a CAFPP must declare such circumstance in their Personal Income Tax (IRPF) declaration.
Prizes from a CAFPP constitute an increase in wealth pursuant to current legislation on Personal Income Tax.
As a consequence of the foregoing, the organisers of the CAFPP will be obliged to apply the tax withholdings which correspond to the winners whenever the individual prices are worth more than €300.
More information on Raffles, occasional gambling and sweepstakes for advertising purposes
Article 66 of Law 22/2021, of December 28, on General State Budgets for the year 2022 updates the fixed amount rates of the State Finances, in general, by applying the coefficient of 1.01 to amount earned during the year 2021 taking into account the provisions of article 74 of Law 11/2020, of December 30, on General State Budgets for the year 2021.
The amounts payable in 2022 of the fee are as follows:
YEAR | 2022 |
---|---|
a) The issuance of registration certifications. | 21,23 |
b) The issuing of technical evaluation reports the conformity of gambling systems. | 40.337,76 |
c) Entries in the General Registry of Gaming Licenses established in this Law. | 2.653,81 |
d) The license application. | 10.615,20 |
e) The request for authorizations. | 106,15 |
f) The inspection or technical verification actions that are established, on a mandatory basis, in this Law or in other provisions with legal status. | 5.307,60 |
The regulatory actions carried out by the National Gaming Commission on the gaming activities carried out by authorized operators and subject to the supervision of this entity, aimed at defraying the expenses generated by the aforementioned Commission. |
0,75 por mil |
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In relation to the settlement of the fee for the administrative management of the game, provided for in article 49 of Law 13/2011, of May 27, gaming regulation and within the framework of the provisions of Order HAP/1995/ 2014, of October 29, which approves the list of bases that will govern the call for general licenses for the development and exploitation of gambling activities of Law 13/2011, the following criteria will be applied:
A) In the case of an operator that currently does not have any general license, and requests a general license and X singular licenses, must settle the taxable events of sections b, c and d of art. 49.2 of Law 13/2011 for the following amounts (at the time of the request):
a. Opinions technical evaluation Number of views: 1 Fee: 38,000 AMOUNT TO ENTER: 38,000
b. Registration in the General License Register Number of (general) licenses applied for: 1 Fee: 2,500 AMOUNT TO ENTER: 2,500
c. Application for licenses or authorizations Number of licenses applied for: 1 X Fee: 10,000 AMOUNT TO ENTER: (1 X) 10,000
B) Operator that currently has no general license, and requests two general licenses and X single licenses, must settle the taxable events of sections b, c and d of art. 49.2 of Law 13/2011 for the following amounts (at the time of the request):
a. Issuance of evaluation technical opinions Number of opinions: 1 Fee: 38,000 AMOUNT TO ENTER: 38,000
b. Registration in the General License Register Number of (general) licenses applied for: 2 Fee: 2,500 AMOUNT TO ENTER: 5,000
c. Application for licenses or authorizations Number of licenses applied for: 2 X Fee: 10,000 AMOUNT TO ENTER: (2 X) 10,000
C) Operator who already has a general license, and now requests a general license different from the one he already has and X unique licenses, must settle the taxable events of sections b, c and d of art. 49.2 of Law 13/2011 for the following amounts (at the time of the request):
a. Issuance of evaluation technical opinions Number of opinions: 1 Fee: 38,000 AMOUNT TO ENTER: 38,000
b. Registration in the General License Register Number of (general) licenses applied for: 1 Fee: 2,500 AMOUNT TO ENTER: 2,500
c. Application for licenses or authorizations Number of licenses applied for: 1 X Fee: 10,000 AMOUNT TO ENTER: (1 X) 10,000
D) Operator that already has a general license and requests X unique licenses linked to the license that already has, must settle the taxable event of section d of art. 49.2 of Law 13/2011 for the following amounts (at the time of the request):
a. Application for licenses or authorizations Number of licenses applied for: X Fee: 10,000 AMOUNT TO ENTER: 10,000 X
Regardless of the previous liquidations, which must be made with the request of the corresponding licenses, at the time of notification of the Resolution granting the provisional license, the corresponding gaming operator will be required to make the entry of the rate of section c ) of art. 49.2 for inscription in the General License Register, for each of the general or individual licenses granted, for an amount of 2,500 euros each.
In relation to the time of the accrual of the taxable event foreseen in section b) of article 49.2. of Law 13/2011, this is produced with the request for general licenses in each procedure for calling for general licenses for the development and exploitation of gambling activities of Law 13/2011, and regardless of the number of general licenses that are request, so that:
Finally, the amounts referred to above may be modified in the General State Budget Law for each year, in accordance with article 49.6 of Law 13/2011.
On 22 July, the Official Gazette of the Spanish State published the Resolution of 11 July 2019, banning offering betting on events in which participants are exclusively or mainly minors, from the Directorate General for the Regulation of Gambling.
This Resolution establishes two specific and different rules: one for competitions aimed exclusively at people of 18 years or younger, and another for all the events offered by an operator.
An event, as specified by the ministerial orders regulating the types of regulated bets, is an event, sporting or otherwise, previously determined by the operator in their schedules and which is carried out within the framework of a sporting or other type of competition. Therefore, this Resolution affects betting on competitions or events, but not betting on events or circumstances that are part of or take part within the framework of these competitions or events, which may be offered provided that the event or competition in which they are part is permitted.
The way in which these two rules (competition and event) must be applied by the operators marketing any of the betting methods permitted by the current legislation is explained below.
In this case, it is prohibited to offer betting on all the events of this competition as there is an especially significant risk that the large majority of the events offered will end up with participants who are minors.
This rule must be applied to all events offered by an operator in their betting schedule, applying the following interpretative rules:
Some practical examples of applying this ban are outlined below:
In relation to the use of the four logos that the DGOJ makes publicly available, the game regulations do not expressly establish a criterion on their use. However, the signifier of these logos is linked to the fulfillment of certain objectives set by Law 13/2011, of May 27th , regulation of gambling (LRJ) (such as the policies of responsible gambling and the protection of consumers -art 8.1-), or of certain obligations linked to them (the subjective prohibitions of access to the game, article 6.2-, those recognized in the list of bases -art 10.1.a-, or the presentation of an operational plan -art 10.2). These legal objectives and obligations allow us to transfer some criteria for the use of logos, which are linked to the different purpose to which each of them responds. So:
Logos about minors and the self-prohibition.
They correspond to subjective prohibitions to participate in the games regulated in Law 13/2011 (to minors -art 6.2.a LRJ-, and to those commonly referred to as "self-prohibited" -art 6.2.b LRJ-), and the availability of them has been arranged through their download whenever it is considered advisable to use them by the operators. The aim is to offer uniform and unambiguous symbols of general use in the sector.
Seal logo Juego Seguro.
The seal of "Juego Seguro" is a brand created by the DGOJ to be used only by gaming operators that have a state license granted by the DGOJ to develop gaming activities, and which is a guarantee that the game is regulated, supervised and controlled by this Directorate General, and that ensures that the game is fair, that legal operators are reliable and that all the solvency, seriousness and control requirements imposed by the State's gambling legislation are met, in this case the Law 13/2011, of May 27th and its regulatory development. In this case, that seal can only be used by gaming operators with a state license, so its use, although optional, is highly recommended for those operators. On the other hand, companies that have not obtained an enabling title (license or authorization) granted by the State may not use the "Juego Seguro" seal referred to above.
Logo of the web portal jugarbien.es.
The ownership of the domain on the Internet http://www.jugarbien.es corresponds to the DGOJ, and its content responds to the objective of the DGOJ to provide accurate and adequate information on the gaming activities, the principles of responsible gaming, the protection of the consumer and the prevention or mitigation of the possible harmful effects that the game may produce on people. Therefore, it is understood that for the purposes of the information obligations established in art. 8.1 LRJ (letters a, b and c), the use of this logo and its link is recommended for operators, without prejudice to the fact that they may extend this information through other contents that the operator deems appropriate to include.
Concepto de comunicaciones comerciales
Mensajes sobre protección de menores de edad o sobre juego responsable o seguro
Personas o personajes de relevancia o notoriedad pública
Actividades de promoción de los operadores de juego
Comunicaciones comerciales a través de medios presenciales
Comunicaciones comerciales en servicios de comunicación audiovisual
Páginas web o aplicaciones desde las que pueden ofrecerse comunicaciones comerciales
La actividad de juego regulada por la Ley 13/2011, de 27 de mayo, de regulación del juego (en adelante, LRJ) es aquella en la que se arriesgan cantidades de dinero u objetos económicamente evaluables en cualquier forma sobre resultados futuros e inciertos, dependientes en alguna medida del azar, y que permitan su transferencia entre los participantes, con independencia de que predomine en ellos el grado de destreza de los jugadores o sean exclusiva o fundamentalmente de suerte, envite o azar. Los premios podrán ser en metálico o especie dependiendo de la modalidad de juego.
Por lo tanto, en términos generales, para que una actividad quede comprendida en el ámbito de aplicación de la LRJ, además de ser de ámbito estatal, debe reunir de manera concurrente los siguientes elementos: pago por participar, azar en la determinación del resultado y premio transferido al participante ganador.
Cuando una determinada actividad es susceptible de subsunción en el concepto de juego de la LRJ entonces resulta imperativo su sometimiento al marco regulatorio en ella previsto, lo que implica, entre otros aspectos que, salvo que esa actividad cuente con una reglamentación específica, está prohibida.
Esta definición legal, conocida y asimilada por todas aquellas entidades que desarrollan una actividad relacionada con los juegos de azar y las apuestas, es aplicable igualmente a las cajas botín, de tal modo que cuando el desarrollo operativo y comercial de un producto de esas características, desde su diseño estructural hasta su uso efectivo por el jugador o jugadora, se ajusta a la misma, entonces tendrá la consideración de juego de azar en los términos previstos en la LRJ y en sus disposiciones de desarrollo.
Sin perjuicio de lo anterior, y a la luz de las características singulares de esta clase de productos, la compra y activación de un mecanismo aleatorio de recompensa tiene la consideración de una actividad de juego de las comprendidas en el ámbito de aplicación de la LRJ, siempre y cuando sus características estructurales y funcionales se ajusten a los siguientes parámetros:
Carece de relevancia si esa recompensa es una mejora de carácter cosmético en el videojuego o una ventaja de carácter competitivo para el jugador que la obtiene.