Spain: what has to be filed, and who pays the prize tax?
No licence nationwide. A regional campaign may need prior notice to the autonomous community.
Rated: manageable
Planning effort, not legal risk, and not legal advice. Before every launch the mechanic is confirmed by a law firm admitted in the market.
In detail
Allowed, including purchase-linked draws, with no free-entry route; the exemption holds only while entry carries no surcharge or premium tariff
No licence and no prior filing with the DGOJ for a nationwide campaign; a regional campaign may need prior notice to the autonomous community. A gaming-activities tax applies instead
Withholding above a threshold; for prizes in kind the promoter pays a 19 % account payment, calculated on its own cost plus 20 % and due only above €300, and may pass it on to the winner if the terms say so
The gaming-activities tax is 10 % of the market value of the prizes offered. At state level it is self-assessed quarterly, in the month after each quarter ends, or within 30 days of the draw starting; a regional campaign follows the autonomous community's own form and deadline
Advertising prize draws are explicitly excluded from the gaming-licence regime: no licence, no authorisation, no prior notification to the DGOJ. The price of that freedom is fiscal, and it lands in two places: a gaming-activities tax on the market value of the prizes, self-assessed by the organiser, plus withholding on higher-value prizes, which for in-kind prizes ends up carried by the promoter. Market practice adds notarial steps around the legal bases and the draw. DGOJ guards the gambling boundary, AEPD the data side. The exact rates, deadlines and how the in-kind burden is calculated are modelled per campaign and confirmed with local counsel, because the state and the autonomous communities use different forms and different deadlines. Status: mid-2026.
What this means for your campaign
Budget the levies rather than the paperwork: 10 % gaming-activities tax on the market value of the prizes, plus a 19 % account payment on prizes in kind.
All 41 markets side by side
The permit check puts all 41 markets side by side and adds up the effort for your market selection. The full legal sources are on the market rules overview.
Planning a campaign in Spain?
Tell us the mechanic, the markets and the date. You get a fixed-price concept back within three business days, including the permit route per market.