Spain tightens scrutiny of tax returns on gambling winnings

 Spanish consumers must declare profits from online gambling winnings in 2023 self-assessment income tax returns.

The directive comes from the Agencia Tributaria (AEAT), the Tax Agency of Spain’s Ministry of Finance, where Director General Soledad Fernández is increasing scrutiny on profits from online gambling, cryptocurrency transactions, property rentals, and foreign income.

Before the 2023 income tax filing period, AEAT issued approximately 2.9 million notices to taxpayers, ordering them to declare profits from these activities.

This includes the first-ever notices concerning online gambling profits. AEAT has sent out 164,000 warnings about these profits, marking the Treasury’s first targeted effort in this area.

However, Fernández and AEAT have expressed greater concern regarding undeclared cryptocurrency trading profits, issuing one million notices to individuals.

In relation to gambling winnings, in 2022 the Ministry of Finance authorised AEAT to update Tax Module-190 to ensure the reporting of gambling prizes/winnings under €300, impacting 2023 tax filings.

The tax requirement for winnings of €300 now applies to Spanish taxpayers earning over €22,000 annually, reduced from the previous €1000 disclosure threshold.

For sports betting and online gambling winnings (casino/poker), AEAT enforces a five-tiered tax framework with rates set at 19% on winnings up to €12,450, 24% from €12,450 to €20,200, 30% on €20,200 to €35,200, 37% on €35,200 to €60,000, and 45% for winnings over €60,000.

With these changes, AEAT has streamlined the process for amending or submitting specific declarations on gambling, crypto, and foreign income transactions, assuring that ‘taxpayers can easily modify amounts in their filings, and the system will automatically take care of the rest’.

The Ministry of Finance faced criticism from the Partido Popular (PP), Spain’s Conservative Party and primary opposition, for allowing AEAT to modify tax modules on gambling, deemed as an ‘unnecessary and punitive tax on recreational consumers’.

Spanish Police Smash Sports Betting Fraud Syndicate

The Spanish National Police, in collaboration with Europol, Interpol, and the Spanish Tax Agency, arrested 53 individuals involved in a criminal organization responsible for manipulating sports events. The investigation, conducted from 29th January to 1st February, revealed that the syndicate orchestrated match-fixing schemes in football, tennis, and table tennis across more than 20 nations, including Romania, Bulgaria, Ukraine, Russia, and Bolivia. The suspects, known as “betting mules,” played a crucial role in facilitating the criminal network’s operations by selling their personal information and betting platform account credentials.

The arrested individuals were part of a sophisticated criminal network that controlled over 1,500 betting accounts and generated approximately €2 million in winnings. The syndicate’s leaders utilized advanced technology to manipulate live streams by intercepting satellite signals and gaining access to live signals before betting houses. This unprecedented advantage allowed them to place substantial winning bets with the pre-knowledge of predetermined outcomes.

Moreover, the fraudulent organization devised a complex system to launder the proceeds obtained from their illegal gambling activities, further obscuring their tracks and making it challenging for authorities to trace the illicit funds.

This operation marks the second phase of a broader investigation that began in 2020. The initial phase led to the arrest of 22 individuals, including the leaders of the criminal organization. The subsequent phase, which unfolded earlier this year, exposed the extent of the syndicate’s activities and led to the apprehension of an additional 53 suspects.

It comes as no surprise that football and tennis were the primary targets of the criminal network. According to the International Betting Integrity Association (IBIA), these two sports generated the highest number of suspicious alerts in 2023. The syndicate capitalizing on these popular sports underscores the need for stringent measures to protect the integrity of sporting events and ensure fair play.

The successful crackdown on this sports betting fraud syndicate demonstrates the efficacy of international collaboration among law enforcement agencies. Europol and Interpol played vital roles in supporting the Spanish National Police in their investigation, highlighting the importance of cross-border cooperation in combating transnational organized crime.

This case highlights the evolving nature of sports betting fraud and the need for continuous adaptation by law enforcement agencies. As criminals employ increasingly sophisticated techniques, authorities must stay ahead of the game by investing in advanced technology and intelligence capabilities.

Spain’s gambling prevalence study raises questions on effective protections

Spain’s Ministry of Consumer Affairs has published the findings of its “Prevalence Study of Gambling on the General Public of Spain”.

The study was presented to public health and welfare stakeholders who form part of the Responsible Gambling Advisory Council. The council is charged with developing safer gambling policies to protect Spanish consumers from gambling harms.

Research was conducted using 20,000 customised surveys throughout Spain’s 17 autonomous communities –  with each providing ‘a sample selected for its representativeness through a random procedure’.

The Ministry states that the research questions were designed by the scientific Unit of the Responsible Gaming Advisory Council. Gambling prevalence data aims to reflect the Spanish public’s perspectives on variables such as channel, type of player, age, and gaming segment when engaging with gambling activities (retail and online). 

The study further offers an analysis of risks associated with various gambling products and player segments. It also presents observations on social and economic characteristics that impact prevalence and potential harms.

Regarding public demographics of gambling, the study estimates that approximately half (49.5%) of Spain’s population (47.5 million) engages in gambling. Of these, 97% gamble in person and 6.6% online.

The Spanish lotteries of Once and SELAE recorded the highest engagement, with 81% of respondents stating that “they only play lotteries.”

Online gambling (excluding lotteries) predominantly attracts male players, with 73% of Spanish male players participating, whereas 52% of Spanish female gamblers stated they only play lotteries.

Across Spanish provinces, the highest penetration of online gambling was observed among male players aged 26-to-35 (23.7%) and 35-to-45 (23.2%).

The youngest demographic segment, those aged 18-to-25, mainly engage in online gambling services, reflecting broader shifts in digital consumer habits.

Providing a breakdown of “public engagements,” the study reports that sports betting (31%) and lotteries (27%) are the product segments with the highest weekly frequency (more than twice a week).

On public protections, prevalence data suggests that gambling in Spain is generally moderate and responsible, with the majority of players spending less than one hour a week and less than €50 per month on gambling activities (retail or online). 

Spanish online gambling trade body, Jdigital, responded to the prevalence study’s findings: “We believe that the Ministry of Consumer Affairs boasts of regulating based on science. However, from our perspective, over the past four years, the Ministry has first regulated and then presented data to justify its legislation.”

Reflecting on the study’s headline finding that only 6.6% of Spanish gamblers play online, Jdigital questions the Ministry of Consumer Affairs’ “apparent demonisation of the online gambling sector.” 

In H1, the Spanish government approved the Ministry’s “Royal Decree on Responsible Gaming Environments”. This mandate will ensure that Spanish gambling adopts the strictest surveillance of gambling operators and market activities within Europe by 2024.

Jdigital questions why the Ministry continues to overlook its membership concerns about black market infringements targeting national consumers.

“We are concerned about the limited awareness regarding the differences between legal and illegal gambling, as highlighted in the Online Player in Spain report by Jdigital in 2022. 

Furthermore, we are surprised that the report from the Ministry of Consumer Affairs presents such low illegal gambling data, especially considering the high number of websites that are shut down each year.”

Currently, the Spanish regulator DGOJ is undergoing a stakeholder consultation on how to implement the protections of the Ministry’s decree. This includes considerations regarding deposit limits, record-keeping, player registries, and enforcing in-play restrictions on high-risk games.

Italy and Spain have banned betting sponsorship – what can the Premier League learn?

After two decades of financial support from the gambling industry, Premier League clubs are preparing to cut off a hand that has so often fed them.

This summer is expected to see a vote passed by the 20 clubs to prohibit betting companies from appearing on the front of shirts once a three-year phasing-out period has concluded in 2026.

Sleeve sponsorships are still expected to be permitted under revised laws but this is the Premier League’s best attempt to appease the UK government before a long-awaited review of gambling laws coming later this month. Compromise, it has concluded, is key.

That means eight of the current 20 top-flight clubs — Bournemouth, Brentford, Everton, Fulham, Leeds United, Newcastle United, Southampton and West Ham United — must look elsewhere for a primary commercial partner for the 2026-27 season. Aston Villa, too, will join the search after teaming up with online casino BK8 for next term. The length of that new deal, coincidentally, was three years.

Premier League clubs’ commercial teams will now have to diversify in pursuit of their biggest sponsorship deals. The traditional ‘Big Six’ have found other sectors offering vast financial support, but many of the mid-to-lower-end clubs will have to rethink their strategy.

Fulham, for example, have had a betting sponsor for seven of the past 10 seasons, a run that has included five brands. Include Betfair, which became the first betting company to appear on a Premier League club shirt in 2002-03, and they have teamed up with half a dozen. They, though, are only one of 25 Premier League clubs to have had a shirt sponsored by a company from the gambling industry.

There are concerns the visibility of betting brands — and the means for cashing in — will remain in an arrangement that falls short of the blanket ban sought by campaigners. Heavy advertising, it has been made clear, routinely exposes vulnerable people to a harmful and addictive product. But English football is not alone in facing up to commercial restrictions.

In the coming weeks, the long-awaited white paper is expected to outline new restrictions on gambling adverts and the Premier League hopes its proposals will be enough to avert the outright ban that has been forced upon other major European leagues. The EFL, too, hopes it can continue with partnerships that include all three leagues being sponsored by Skybet.

Serie A clubs have not been permitted to carry betting brands since the Italian government tightened laws in 2019. Those in La Liga found the same limitations come their way ahead of the 2021-22 season.

In Belgium, there are protests against change but their government has spoken. Justice minister Vincent Van Quickenborne last month lamented “the tsunami of gambling advertising” when announcing a national crackdown that will see sporting clubs curbed from 2025.

There is nothing close to uniformity across Europe. French clubs remain free to carry the names of betting partners on the front of their shirts. Montpellier (Partouche), Troyes and Strasbourg (both Winamax) have visible backing from the gambling industry this season, and Paris Saint-Germain agreed to make Parions Sport a “premium partner” in a three-year deal struck last summer.

The French FA (FFF), meanwhile, is midway through a five-year deal with Betclic, the French betting group. Kylian Mbappe has taken a stand against that branding, opting out of a photoshoot to promote the company last year.

In the Netherlands, too, its FA (KNVB) has made clear it opposes the proposed ban on gambling advertising slated to come in from January 2025. The KNVB, with the support of clubs, says it goes “too far” by halting revenues estimated to be worth between €40million and €70million (£35m and £61m) a year. AZ Alkmaar, Volendam and Fortuna Sittard all have shirt sponsorships with betting firms.

Disruption to the marketplace is unavoidable but, in retaining reduced advertising opportunities, Premier League clubs know it could have been worse.

Counterparts in Italy and Spain will attest to that.

Serie A has long pushed back against the ban on gambling-related advertising introduced by Giuseppe Conte’s government at the end of 2018. Italy’s top-flight spoke of its “extreme worry” at the measures, highlighting the potential for millions of euros to be lost.

As of December 31, 2018, Serie A clubs had 15 sponsorship deals with betting companies, amounting to two per cent of the league’s total arrangements. Among those were Roma’s reported €15.5million (£13.6m, $17m) deal with Betway for the sponsorship of training kit and Lazio’s front-of-shirt deal with Marathonbet. Torino and Chievo also had back-of-shirt sponsors.

The Italian Football Association (IFF) lobbied for the ban to be suspended once the COVID-19 pandemic hit, arguing clubs had lost out on an estimated €100million in potential commercial revenue, but met resistance from the state.

Serie A has always argued a ban on gambling-related ads would handicap its clubs against others in Europe, particularly in the Premier League, but since 2021, the same restrictions have befallen clubs in Spain.

Alberto Garzon, minister of consumer affairs, wrote to all clubs in October 2020 to say the promotion of gambling firms would be prohibited from the start of the next season. La Liga president Javier Tebas forecast it would cost clubs €90million and the limited timeframe for legislation to come into force ensured eight clubs were left without a sponsor when the 2021-22 campaign began.

Premier League clubs will face neither that hurried search for new partners nor the outright ban that has impacted clubs in Italy and Spain. They are not permitted sleeve sponsors or allowed to show the branding of betting websites on pitchside advertising boards to a domestic audience.

There are loopholes still being exploited, though. The technology used in both Serie A and La Liga allows broadcasters to cater output to individual territories by superimposing advertising on top of pitchside boards. That allows an audience in the Far East, for example, to still see betting ads when watching games in Serie A. Such tech has not yet been introduced by the Premier League.

Italian clubs such as Inter Milan have had to find non-betting sponsors  

Italian clubs are also free to team up with betting partners. Juventus have struck agreements with Betera, Parimatch and 10Bet since the gambling ad ban was introduced four years ago and only last month signed up with Khelraja and Ekings, the Asian gambling platforms. Each announcement ended with the disclaimer: “As per Italian law, partnership not performed in Italy”.

Real Madrid are in the same boat. They list Asian firm Kok Sports and African group SportyBet among their regional sponsors, as well as the Spanish-based Codere, which operates across Europe and Latin America.

That inability to strike shirt sponsorship deals with gambling companies, though, has altered the landscape and hastened football’s potentially short-lived relationship with the cryptocurrency and blockchain sector.

Spanish clubs Valencia (fan-token Socios) and Cadiz (Bitci) swapped betting brands for crypto in 2021-22 only to quickly sever ties and find new partners for this season. Atletico Madrid have run into their own problems with crypto platform WhaleFin, the outgoing sleeve sponsor of Chelsea, which cancelled a €40million-per-season deal in February.

Premier League clubs at least have time on their side to fill any void that comes from a gambling shirt sponsorship ban.

The expectation is that this will likely bring a short-term financial hit as the market readjusts to life without the inflated sums offered by betting companies, but, unlike in Italy and Spain, the Premier League’s global appeal will help limit the damage.

“It would be disruptive,” says Dan Haddad, head of commercial strategy at Octagon, a sports, music and entertainment agency. “Broadly what you might see is that it corrects itself a little bit. If this halfway measure happens and they have to do without front-of-shirt, it might be that other entry points, like sleeve sponsorships and ad boards, become more valuable. You might see a drop in front-of-shirt sponsorships, for example, but the sleeve sponsorship might double.”

The mid-to-lower tier of Premier League clubs is traditionally the most fertile ground for gambling-related sponsors. Those deals tend to be valued between £6million and £10million per season, with the betting companies often the ones offering the most.

Everton are sponsored by ‘crypto betting’ company Stake.com

It would be disingenuous to say that income will be lost given there will be brands willing to fill the void, but the disappearance of gambling companies from the marketplace removes what has become an easy and lucrative option.

Has there been too great a dependency? “It was where the largest revenue opportunity was for many Premier League clubs,” argues Haddad. “It would be hindsight to say they became too dependent on it because what was the other option?

“A lot of Premier League clubs just maximised the opportunity while it existed. I don’t think any of those clubs will suffer from being involved with a betting brand. These clubs have just chased revenue as a means of coping with a high cost base.

“It’ll be disruptive in terms of front-of-shirt value. It’s tricky. You look at Nottingham Forest as a club that has held out for a certain value and it’s gone to show this year that it’s not the easiest thing to sell. They weren’t willing to take a hit on their perception of value.”

It is worth retaining context. If a lower-end Premier League club can command £8million a season from a gambling firm in return for carrying their branding on shirts, that might roughly amount to five per cent of an overall £160million turnover. Replace it with a sponsorship deal worth £6million and the losses are negligible even before there is the chance to recoup the shortfall with a sleeve sponsorship.

Richard Masters, the Premier League’s chief executive, once said his clubs were “not sniffy” about teaming up with the gambling industry but as recently as last summer could foresee what was coming.

“The clubs will adapt, they always do,” he said. “If the future means having no gambling sponsors on shirts, we’ll find a way of dealing with that.”

The Premier League’s strength can avert financial black holes, but a hit is coming.

Spanish clubs sponsored by betting companies advised to cancel their contracts

Spanish clubs have been told by their country's government that they must end their sponsorship deals with gambling companies.

The letter, signed by minister of consumer affairs Alberto Garzon and seen by Reuters, informs the clubs that contracts with gambling companies will be prohibited once the new royal decree is approved by a cabinet meeting and written into law.

The decree, which affects all sports in Spain, contains a transition period which ends when the current season terminates next May

The letter added that betting companies sponsoring teams and athletes had "contributed to normalising a practice with serious health and social risks which need to be minimised in the field of advertising".

It said athletes' status as role models had led to an increase in gambling among young people aged 18-25, rising from 29% to 40% in the last four years. The amount of money spent by young people on gambling, meanwhile, had risen by 13% annually.

Seven of the 20 teams in Spanish soccer's top division La Liga are sponsored by gambling companies, including Europa League holders Sevilla and six-times league champions Valencia.

Top-flight clubs are already facing serious financial difficulties due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, which Valencia president Anil Murthy said had cost the club around 100 million euros in lost revenue.

La Liga president Javier Tebas has spoken out against the decree, saying on Monday that clubs would lose a combined 90 million euros and that the league was trying to increase the transition period to up to three years to help teams acclimatise.

Spain to impose “tobacco-like” restrictions on gambling advertising as Parliament greenlights Sánchez government

Spain’s new coalition government, headed by Pedro Sánchez, has said it will bring gambling advertising regulations in line with those imposed on the tobacco industry.

“We will approve a regulation of the advertising of gambling – online gambling and betting – at the state level and similar to that of tobacco products,” the coalition agreement states. Specific details, however, have not yet been disclosed.

Considering the harsh rhetoric directed at the gambling sector during the latest election campaign, these new restrictions have the potential to significantly change Spain’s gambling landscape. Alberto Garzón is to be appointed as Minister of Consumer Affairs and will oversee the further development of Spain’s gambling regulation.

Spanish Betting Sites Agree to Voluntary New Advertising Code

Gambling operators in Spain have agreed to a new voluntary code of conduct on advertising in a bid to avoid tougher, mandatory rules which could be imposed by the government. Taking effect from January 2020, the regulator has approved the new rules but it’s too early to tell whether the tough coalition government will think they’ve gone far enough.

The advertising legislation was created by online betting trade association in Spain, JDigital and has been given the green light for launch on 15 January 2020 by regulator, Dirección General de Ordenación del Juego (DGOJ).

Adopting a responsible approach

The new code of conduct largely mimics the legislation in other country which calls upon betting firms to take a responsible approach when considering their advertising campaigns. This includes not showing images of anyone who appears to be under 25, refraining from celebrity endorsements with a large youth fanbase and not using any professional athletes to promote gambling. The message of responsible gambling must also be prominent in any type of advertisement.

Other limitations include a restriction on the number of bonus offers which are made but they don’t go as far as restrictions in place in other countries. For example, in the UK there is a “whistle to whistle” block on advertising which prevents any promotional ads being shown during competitive events.

Some of the members of the Jdigital online betting group include Bet365, The Stars Group and GVC Holdings together with local operators such as R Franco and Luckia. The operators will be hoping that the new code will pacify a government which had previously threatened a tough clampdown on all gambling ads in a move backed by the country’s ombudsman.

New coalition government

Elections last week couldn’t produce an outright majority in government so a coalition has been struck up between the PSOE ruling party and UP, the party that campaigns against austerity. The UP has been particularly vocal in its opposition of gambling and given the chance would restrict operators in any way possible.

However, UP have had their own recent scandals. During their election campaign they showed an individual who claimed his life had been ruined by bookmakers and betting, and was now destitute. Super-sleuths soon tracked down the man online after he uploaded a video from his recent skiing holiday, throwing doubt on the “testimony” that he had provided about the damage done by gambling.

Ander Herrera conscience 'clear' after Spain match-fixing case reopened

Manchester United midfielder Ander Herrera has said his conscience remains clear after match-fixing allegations were reopened in Spain.

Real Zaragoza's 2-1 win against Levante on May 21, 2011 has been investigated by Spain's anti-corruption prosecutors' office over payments related to alleged match fixing.

Herrera, who played for Zaragoza at the time, may face trial after the case was reopened by a judge in Valencia.

The timescale remains unclear and the 28-year-old maintains his innocence, with his representative reissuing a statement first released in December 2014.

It said: "I have never had and will never have anything to do with manipulating match results.

"If I am ever called to testify in any judicial hearing, I'll be happy to attend, as my conscience is totally clear.

"I love football and I believe in fair play, both on and off the pitch."

El Gordo

IIn the early 2000s, Costis Mitsotakis of Greece met a Spanish girl named Sandra del Pozo. They fell in love, and not long after, bought a small RV, left Greece and headed to Spain. Their destination — Sodeto, a town in the northeast corner of the country, where Sandra’s grandmother lived.

Sodeto is one of about 300 little farming villages that the dictator Francisco Franco built in Spain in the 1950s, in an effort to bring people and agriculture to isolated places. All the towns built during this time look similar, and Sodeto is no exception — there’s a church in the center of town and one bar, which is also the one restaurant, which is also the one place to hang out. The houses are the color of sand, and each has a red-tiled roof. About 200 people live in the town.

Sodeto is not the kind of place that makes news. But all that changed in 2011 when almost everyone in this little village won a piece of the biggest lottery jackpot in Spain. By chance, Costis Mitsotakis had found himself in the luckiest town in the world.

In the United States, as far we know, an entire town has never won the lottery. Sometimes large groups do win together, but more often than not, lotteries jackpots in the U.S. are divided by just a few people.

In Spain, they do the lottery differently. First of all, it’s a country-wide obsession — about 75% of Spaniards buy a ticket. There’s more than one lottery in Spain, but the one that Spaniards are the most passionate about is “La Lotería de Navidad” (“The Christmas Lottery”). This lottery has taken place every year since 1812.

For better or worse, lotteries have long been considered by governments as useful ways to raise funds for public programs. But lotteries were, and still are, thought to be regressive taxes on the poor. Karl Marx called them a sinister instrument of the state, designed to dupe the poor into believing there was an easy way out of poverty. The church found lottery play to be blasphemous and superstitious. In 1826 the British outright banned the lottery for nearly a hundred years.

And in 1862, Spain responded to the criticisms as well: by re-designing their national lottery so that it wouldn’t take as much money from the poor. The government thought if the they set the price of tickets high, only rich people would buy them. But that’s not what happened. People began “syndicate” playing, or playing in groups. The lottery became more popular than ever.

In the Christmas Lottery, any number from 00000 to 99,999 can win. It’s very expensive to own an entire number, so organizations will buy a share of a number and then sell off even smaller shares to individuals — five euro shares, two euro shares, etc. Thousands of people may own small fractions of the same number. The smaller the share you have, the less you get of the total jackpot if your number should win.

Making it expensive to own a number outright has turned the lottery into a huge social event. Local organizations sell tickets at a markup for fundraisers. Most Spaniards end up with a stack of tickets — all different tiny shares of different numbers that they’ve been talked into buying.

The numbers go on sale in the summer for the drawing on December 22nd. It is held in Madrid, in the same theater and the same way every year. There’s a stage, holding two giant golden orbs, containing balls with the numbers and prize amounts. After the balls drop, two children sing the numbers and prize amounts in a kind of Gregorian chant. The whole event lasts for hours.

Everyone waits for the biggest prize of the day – “El Gordo” ( the fat one). The “El Gordo” prize is often worth close to a billion dollars. As soon as the El Gordo-winning number is announced, reporters scramble to find out in what part of Spain it was sold.

And on December 22, 2011, it was the people of Sodeto, Spain who held the winning number.

The winning tickets had been sold all over Sodeto by The Housewives Association — a group of women who host parties and activities in town. The association sold tickets, door to door, for six euros. Five euros for the lottery ticket, one euro for their fundraising.

Maria-Carmen Lambea from the Association had chosen the winning number. When she heard that they had won El Gordo, she started calling friends. No one could believe it. Soon everyone was gathered on the plaza. Each six euro ticket the house-wives had sold was worth 100,000 euros.

Ana, the bartender had won, Paco, the farmer, and his wife Marisol won. Rosa, the mayor of the town had won. It seemed that every single resident of the small town of Sodeto had won a piece of El Gordo. The people of Sodeto were not the only ones to win on the number 58,268 in 2011. A few thousand other people also had small shares of the number — mostly scattered around in towns nearby. The total jackpot that year for EL Gordo was about 750 million euros, but it was divided by thousands of people. In Sodeto – the people who bought more tickets got more money, and everyone got at least 100,000 euros.

Everyone, except one. Costis Miksotaksis. Somehow the housewives had missed him when they went knocking on doors.



Six years later, Costis still lives in Sodeto. He and Sandra have parted ways, but remain friends. When we asked if he felt any regret or jealousy, he laughs. “No, nothing,” he says — because Costis feels he got something that day too. He’s a filmmaker and he’s been documenting how the town has responded to this sudden wealth. He believes the town has become a little more insular since the win — more focused on the nuclear family and less on the community as a whole.

But Maria-Carmen doesn’t believe the town has changed that much. Sodeto is a town of farmers, and some of them installed new irrigation systems, or bought new tractors. Some people added modest additions to their homes, but nothing extravagant. It’s been a wonderful thing for everyone in this little working-class town, says Maria-Carmen, to live without the worry of debt.

And that’s the thing about this syndicate style lottery: unlike the Powerball Jackpot in the United States, which heaps hundreds of millions on one or two winners, the money from the Christmas Lottery gets divvied up among thousands of people.

The people who win El Gordo don’t generally win enough to buy mansions and yachts. They win enough to pay off their debts and buy a Honda civic. The lottery brings wealth to a whole geographic area, and distributes it relatively evenly, at least among those lucky enough to have a ticket.

Economists have long struggled to figure out why people play the lottery. It’s not a rational investment The odds of winning the big jackpots are terrible — worse than any other form of gambling. But in Spain, it’s pretty obvious why people play this lottery. It’s the social thing to do. You buy because you don’t want to be that one guy who doesn’t win. You don’t want to be Costis. The lottery organizers actually exploit this fear in their advertising each year.

The Housewives Association, now officially called the “Women’s Association,” continues to choose a number each year for the Christmas Lottery.

The women used to knock on doors for months to sell the tickets, but now the people come to them, and tickets sell out in a few days. “They were lucky once and they could be again,” people say, and no one wants to be left out.

Playtech releases slot games to Spanish licensees

Playtech will extend its dominance of the Spanish casino market by supplying all existing local licensees with access to its extensive, industry-leading slots portfolio.

Playtech’s existing licensees will offer the company’s industry-leading online and mobile slot content from today – the official date set by Spanish regulator La Dirección General de Ordenación del Juego (DGOJ) for the allowance of casino slot games.

As a result, each licensee will offer Playtech’s best-performing slot content including locally themed in-house and premium branded games from major studios such as Paramount and Universal and popular land-based titles, giving them access to the most complete Omni-Channel offering available within the Spanish market.

The Playtech offering in Spain is unrivalled delivering cutting-edge, profitable Omni-Channel gaming solutions to leading online, mobile and land-based brands across all verticals via Playtech ONE.

Playtech’s pioneering ONE technology allows players a seamless, anywhere-anytime gaming experience across any product, channel and device all using a single account and single wallet.

The Spanish gaming regulator approved slot games in July last year and re-opened its licensing window in November, the first time this has taken place since the market regulated in June 2012.

Shimon Akad, COO, Playtech, said: “The inclusion of online casino games and slots in Spain is a major breakthrough and will serve to increase our market share there.

“Our licensees and their players can now enjoy a complete Omni-Channel gaming solution online, on any mobile device, in-venue, and in retail outlets, across casino, bingo, poker, sports, virtual, live, and social, casual and fixed-odds games.”

NetEnt strikes Codere deal, secures UK licences

Online gaming content developer Net Entertainment (NetEnt) has announced that it has signed a licence agreement with Spanish gaming operator Codere, as well as confirming it has been granted licences to operate in the UK market.

Under the agreement with Codere, NetEnt will deliver a range of casino games to the operator’s online casino in Spain.

NetEnt is currently in the licensing process in Spain in the hope of launching its products and services in the country this year.

“Codere is a market leader in Spain, which is one of our prioritised countries when it comes to new regulated markets with strong growth potential,” NetEnt Malta managing director and chief of European market operations, Enrico Bradamante, said.

Meanwhile, NetEnt has also revealed that it has been awarded operating and software licences for the UK market by the UK Gambling Commission.

NetEnt has been operating under a temporary licence since the introduction of new regulation in the UK late last year.

Per Eriksson, president and chief executive officer of NetEnt, said: “This is a milestone for NetEnt and we are very pleased to have been approved for UK licenses by the UK Gambling Commission.

“Britain is the largest gaming market in Europe and is central for our growth strategy to expand on regulated markets.”

Trial over suspected Levante-Zaragoza fix gets underway

The preliminary phase of the trial investigating the alleged fixing of the Levante vs Zaragoza match in May 2011 has kicked off. Judge Isabel Rodríguez has begun to hear testimony from the suspects.

The first person to go before the judge was Jaime Sanz de Bremond, the lawyer representing former Zaragoza left-back Iván Obradovic, who confirmed that his client could not testify at this moment because he is on international duty with Serbia.

Villarreal's Ikechukwu Uche was next to appear in the courtroom in Valencia, accompanied by his lawyer. The striker declined to make any comments to the media.

Then came ex-Zaragoza captain Javier Paredes, who is now with Albacete. The defender was also tight-lipped on his arrival and departure.

Amaya ahead of schedule for PokerStars sportsbook launch

In its consumer business update Amaya Gaming, parent company of PokerStars stated that it was ahead of schedule in the upcoming launch of its sports betting product. The operator expects to launch the product by Q1 2014

The sports betting product will initially launch within the PokerStars poker client within certain markets. PokerStars will gradually add more markets as well as web and mobile versions throughout the year.

The operator has chosen to build its sports betting product in-house, in November 2014 Amaya revealed that it had begun to construct its sports betting trading team.

Its planned expansion into the sports betting market, comes just months after the operator launched its casino product.

In December 2014 PokerStars completed the rollout of casino table games to players in eligible markets on PokerStars.com and certain domains sharing liquidity on the global network. The table games are available through the new PokerStars 7 platform, which is currently an optional download to players but which will become the sole poker client in the future.

PokerStars will also launch web and mobile versions of its casino in 2015, supported by an aggressive consumer marketing campaign. PokerStars announced the planned rollout of table games on its .com network in November, following a successful launch on PokerStars.es, the brand’s website in Spain.

The operator claims that it has witnessed a 30% cross sell for its casino table games to its its active player base in Spain.

Herrera denies match-fixing claim

Manchester United midfielder Ander Herrera has denied being involved in a match-fixing scandal surrounding a Levante-Zaragoza game in 2011.

Anti-Corruption prosecutor Alejandro Luzon is claiming that €965,000 was paid to Levante players so they would lose the game, which the Aragones club won 2-1 and thus claimed the three points needed to avoid relegation.

However, Herrera, who is one of 41 players, Coaches and club officials named in the investigation, issued a statement via his Facebook account denying he had anything to do with rigging the game and helping his former club retain its top-flight status.

“In an on-going legal process involving Real Zaragoza (Spain), the club I was honoured to play with from 12 until 22 years of age, there are 41 people mentioned, of which I am one.

“I have never had and will never have anything to do with manipulating match results. If I am ever called to testify in any judicial hearing, I’ll be happy to attend, as my conscience is totally clear.

“I love football and I believe in fair play, both on and off the pitch,” it read.

Spain re-opens licensing window for new online gambling applicants

Spain’s gambling regulator La Direccion General de Ordenacion del Juego (DGOJ) has re-opened its online gambling licensing window, in a move to create new market entrants for the Spanish online gambling market.

The DGOJ will review new business submissions of online gambling operators who wish to participate in Spain’s regulated online gambling market. The regulator confirmed that the window would be opened from the 1November until 8 December.

Interested operators have been asked to submit applications via the DGOJ’s website, the regulator stated that the process of issuing new operator licenses would take up to six months for applicants.

Spanish gambling market commentators have speculated that Spain’s regulated igaming market could see ten or twelve new betting operators enter the market.

Having reviewed its policies and frameworks in May, the DGOJ confirmed that it would approve betting exchanges and slots to be serviced by licensed online gambling and betting operators.

The DGOJ confirmed that licensed gambling operators would have to re-apply in order to provide slots in their product inventory.

The Spanish regulator had garnered pressure from igaming operators, who have felt restricted by regulations concerning product inventory for the market. The DGOJ further stressed that it would need a six month window to implement changes to current Spanish provisions in order to monitor and regulate the market.

Synot Group targets Spanish gambling market

Czech Republic licensed lottery and gambling group, Synot has announced its expansion into the Spanish gambling market. Synot Group will launch its Spanish gaming initiatives under the name Synot Gaming Spain SL.

Synot Gaming Spain will look to offer video lottery and gambling terminals to local gambling providers. Synot have chosen to enter the market, as Spanish gambling regulators allow for new gaming provision contracts to be permitted by Spain’s governing provinces.

Synot Group senior management confirmed that it would look to quickly establish set up Gaming Spain, and establish working partnerships with regional gambling operators. Synot Gaming Spain will look to become a market leader in gaming provisions for the region.

Neophytos Neophytou, Director of Synot International, said: “Spain means to us a great perspective. Local market is now opening to video lottery terminals that enable thorough and transparent supervision of bets, wins and revenues by the state supervisory authorities.

At present Spain has seventeen self-regulated provinces, each of which serves its own individual lottery and gaming legislations.

Spain to allow gambling TV advertising

The Spanish gambling regulatory body is set to establish new provisions and laws that will allow the promotion and coverage of igaming verticals to be broadcast on Spanish national television.

Although online gambling is permitted, through granted national license the Spanish Government and Advertising Standards do not permit the broadcasting of television adverts promoting igaming verticals.

The new incentives to allow further promotion of licensed will be drafted by the Spanish advertising watchdog – Autocontrol. It is widely thought that TV advertisements promoting gambling will be placed during the hours of 22:00 – 06:00, in order to protect minors viewing the content. Autocontrol have taken on board advertising policies implemented by the UK advertising standards, such as the introduction of a watershed in order to limit promotion of gambling to the general public.

Igaming operators, who have decided to enter the Spanish regulated market, have welcomed the decision to allow them access to further marketing channels. The Spanish igaming market has proved to be a tough undertaking for several operators who have been burdened by heavy tax levy and restrictions of higher grossing gaming games such as casino slots.

Autocontrol have yet to give a further breakdown on how the advertising regulations and policy will be implemented, and which igaming verticals will be allowed to be advertised to the general public through televised mediums.

Paf begins partnership with ”La Liga”

The gaming company Paf has signed a sponsorship agreement in Spain with the world’s premier football league, Liga Nacional de Fútbol Profesional (LFP), popularly know as La Liga.
The new partnership will give Paf the opportunity to offer their customers unique experiences in addition to bringing them closer to La Liga’s fans.

The Åland gaming company has been licenced in Spain for some time. The sponsorship agreement with LFP, signed earlier this week, gives Paf the opportunity to reach out to a wider audience than before.

”We are very happy to be able to align ourselves with the world’s premier football league. In cooperation with La Liga we have the opportunity to provide our customers with unique experiences and products. As relative newcomers to the market, this partnership also gives us greater exposure and credibility with the Spanish people,” says Paf’s CEO Anders Ingves.

The agreement covers the 2012/2013 season and gives Paf the opportunity to communicate with everyone who follows La Liga, using means such as social media, and to organize activities under a combined Paf and La Liga flag.

“We appreciate that LFP has chosen us as a partner. Paf is an event-oriented company and I am impressed by LFP’s activities with their sponsors,” says Anders Ingves.

“I firmly believe that this partnership will strengthen the growth of Paf, which already has gained momentum in Spain.”

Francisco Roca, LFP's General Manager:
"We are very pleased that Paf has decided to sign this agreement with the LFP because we share essential values, and Paf also understands that through this association they can offer their customers in Spain added value and unique experiences".

Kambi signs contract with Egasa Group

Kambi Sports Solutions, Unibet’s B2B provider of sports betting services, has signed a contract with Egasa Group, Spain’s third largest Gaming Group, to deliver a complete sports betting service. Egasa is the second Spanish full sportsbook operator Kambi has signed recently.

The service includes odds compilation, risk management, customer profiling and a technical platform. The contract is initially for two years and gives Kambi exclusivity to develop Egasa’s sports offer online and on mobile in Spain and other Spanish speaking countries in Latin America.

The launch is expected after the Spanish re-regulated market opens.

Egasa, which has more than 30 years of experience in the gaming industry, is the third largest gaming group in Spain and has a leading position in Spain where it operates 76 gaming establishments and more than 7.500 points of sale.

Egasa also operates Casino venues in Croatia, Chile, and Colombia and will start operations in Mexico and Peru before the end of 2012.

“I have followed Kambi and their competitors for several years and I am confident that we have signed an agreement with the best B2B Sportsbook supplier you can find on the market. With the ambitions Kambi and Egasa have, we will be one of the leaders across all channels in the Spanish betting market”, says Carlos Lopez, General Director for Egasa,

“We are happy to welcome Egasa as client. Egasa has high ambitions for their gaming business and we are proud to be a part of those ambitions.” says Kristian Nylén, CEO Kambi.

PokerStars open up in Spain today

PokerStars launch their new offering officially to Spain today with PokerStars.es, after the company announced it had been awarded a license to serve the Spanish online poker market recently.

This follows on from recent social media rumours regarding the signing of Spanish tennis star Rafael Nadal, which the site’s head of corporate communications, Eric Hollreiser, declined to address.

Regulations in Spain now allow residents to play online with licensed operators and PokerStars have made sure they are among the first to get in there with www.PokerStars.es. According to a recently passed online gaming law, Spanish players can only compete against their fellow countrymen.

Spain now joins France, Denmark, Italy, Estonia, Belgium, Malta, and the Isle of Man in PokerStars’ ever-increasing list of licenses.

Gino Appiotti, President of Licensed Markets – Spain, Italy and France, for PokerStars, said, “Spain is a very important poker market and features some of the best players in the world. As the most popular online poker site in the world, we are very happy to provide the best variety of games, the safest and most secure online play and our world-class software to the market.”