SPAIN Law and Practice Contributed by: Alla Serebrianskaia, Marta de Francisco, Sara Lao and Laura Llorca, Asensi Abogados
gambling licences or seize any assets or documents related to, and needed for, the licensed activity as a precautionary measure. 11.2 Sanctions Economic sanctions may be enforced through the exercise of the relevant guarantees submitted by the operators before the regulator to cover their liabilities and potential consequences that arise as a result of a breach of their obligations as operators. If these guar- antees are not enough to cover a certain liability, the sanctions imposed by the regulator could be enforced through common civil remedies (the seizure of assets, goods, shares, deposits, etc). Additional sanctions, such as activity suspension and limitations on licence applications, may be directly imposed by the regulator or the Ministry of Tax for severe infractions, without requiring further measures beyond the sanction’s announcement. Since 2022, the DGOJ has published details of “seri- ous” and “very serious” sanctions imposed on online operators on its website. 11.3 Financial Penalties As mentioned in 11.2 Sanctions , financial penalties are normally first enforced by the execution of the guarantees deposited by the operator before the regu- lator, and by the seizure of assets of the sanctioned operator company if the guarantees are not sufficient to cover the relevant liability.
The tax rate for online gambling at a regional level, subject to each regional regulation, is 10% on GGR in most of the regions. The tax rate applicable to the land-based sector is approved by each regional regulation and therefore varies depending on the region. As an example, in the region of Madrid, the applicable taxes are as follows: • 20% on GGR general tax rate; • 15% on GGR for bingo, and 30% on GGR for elec- tronic bingo; • 10% on GGR for online games developed in the Madrid region; and • 13% on GGR for betting games and 10% on GGR for sports betting, horse racing and other betting games. The tax rate applicable to land-based casinos depends on the tax base: • 22% if the tax base is less than EUR2 million; • 30% if the tax base is between EUR2 million and EUR8 million; • 35% if the tax base is between EUR8 million and EUR15 million; and • 40% if the tax base is more than EUR15 million. In Andalusia, for instance, the applicable tax rates are as follows: • 15% if the tax base is less than EUR2 million; • 35% if the tax base is between EUR2 million and EUR3.5 million; • 48% if the tax base is between EUR3.5 million and EUR5 million; and • 58% if the tax base is more than EUR5 million. In addition, there are fixed rates that apply to operat- ing betting terminals or automatic appliances suitable for the development of games. The amount depends on the applicable regulation, but the fee generally ranges from EUR3,000 to EUR4,000 per year for ter- minal type B/AWP and from EUR4,000 to EUR5,500 per year for terminal type C/casino machines.
12. Tax 12.1 Tax Rate by Sector
The tax rate for online gambling at the federal level, subject to the Gambling Act, is 20% on GGR or the total amount of money wagered minus the amount won for all gambling products. This tax rate is 10% on GGR if the licensed operator at the federal level is domiciled in Ceuta or Melilla.
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