Spain: Change Proposes Declaration of Gambling Winnings below €300

A newly proposed change may affect the declaration of gambling winnings in Spain, a new report reveals. 

Ministry of Finance Proposes Tax Declaration Change

The Ministry of Finance in the country proposed a change in the declaration of gambling prizes or winnings to include amounts under €300 ($287), a new report released by SBC reveals. Citing efforts to “fix a deficiency” in income declarations, the Ministry proposed to change the current regulation to include the declaration of gambling winnings under €300 ($287). 

Currently, Spanish residents need to submit two different types of declarations depending on the gambling activity they participated in. The first form is submitted whenever an individual reports winnings from casino gambling or sports betting. The tax that is applied to each of those winnings is separated into different tiers that increase it depending on the amount won. On the other hand, a separate type of declaration is submitted by individuals that have collected prizes from SELAE or ONCE, the state lotteries. Those winnings are subject to 20% tax under the current tax regulations in the country.

Currently, Module 190 facilitates the disclosure of gambling winnings and prizes above €300 ($287) to Spain’s National Tax Agency, AEAT. However, under the current rules, prizes below that amount have not been reported. The proposal pushed forward by the Ministry of Finance calls to amend Module 190. If the change is completed, the amended version of the tax module will require the declaration of gambling prizes below €300 ($287) to be disclosed to the AEAT. 

The Country Opposes Online Gambling Legalization

Earlier this month, the national gambling regulator in Spain, the Directorate General for the Regulation of Gambling, announced the results for the industry covering the second quarter of 2022. The regulated gambling operators reported overall gross gaming revenue of €204 million ($198 million) for the three months until June 30, 2022. When compared to Q1 this year, a tiny 0.3% decrease was observed. However, a year-over-year comparison showed that in Q2 this year, GGR decreased by 5.6%.

While the market in Spain has its ups and downs, the country remains in opposition to the legalization of online gambling, according to a study by YouGov. The results of the study called “Global Gambling 2022: The consumer view in the gambling debate” were released recently and reveal that 57% oppose online gambling legalization in Spain. This was a surprising result, considering that the legalization of online gambling in India faced the same percentage of opposition.