Gambling taxes in Spain: how winnings are taxed (2026)

How are gambling winnings taxed in Spain?

As of October 1, 2026, if you’re resident in Spain, winnings from licensed online casinos, sportsbooks, poker and bingo count as capital gains (ganancias patrimoniales) in the general tax base of personal income tax (IRPF). The Tax Agency (Agencia Tributaria, AEAT) says such prizes “integran la base imponible general del IRPF” (form part of the IRPF general tax base).

In practice, that means:

• They’re taxed with your other general income, such as your salary, at the progressive rates of the general scale, so the rate depends on your total general income.
• Only your net gambling gain for the year is taxed, because gambling losses can offset gambling gains from the same year.
• No tax is withheld when a licensed operator pays you, so you declare the gain yourself in your annual return.

Prizes from SELAE, ONCE, Cruz Roja and regional lotteries follow a different rule: a 20% special levy on the part above €40,000.

This guide covers Spanish tax residents. To check how online gambling is licensed, see are online casinos legal in Spain.

Which gambling losses can you deduct?

Only up to the amount of your gambling gains in the same tax year. Article 33.5.d of Spain’s personal income tax law (Ley 35/2006, LIRPF) excludes gambling losses for the year “que excedan de las ganancias obtenidas en el juego en el mismo período” (that exceed gambling gains obtained in the same period). The excess isn’t counted at all, so it can’t reduce your other income or be carried to a later year.

How the AEAT applies the rule:

• All games are pooled. Gambling gains and losses are computed globally for the tax year, combining different games, so a casino loss can offset a sports-betting gain from the same year.
• Lottery losses never count. Losses on the games covered by the special lottery levy (SELAE, ONCE, Cruz Roja and regional lotteries) can’t be deducted at all.
• Some prizes can’t be reduced. Prizes from free-entry media contests and promotional draws can’t be offset by gambling losses.
• “Gambling” has its legal meaning. The AEAT applies the definition of “juego” (gambling) in Spain’s Gambling Act (Ley 13/2011).

Worked example: licensed online winnings

Here’s how the loss rule works for two players who used licensed sites during 2025:

Player A adds €1,300 to the general base, where it’s taxed at their marginal rate along with the rest of their general income, so the exact tax depends on that rate. Player B has no taxable gambling gain for 2025, but the €1,700 of excess losses is lost for tax purposes: it can’t reduce their salary or a later year’s winnings.

No withholding on licensed online winnings

Licensed online operators pay your winnings in full, with no tax deducted. The IRPF regulation (Royal Decree 439/2007, RIRPF, art. 75.3.f) exempts from withholding prizes from games organized under state and regional gambling law, as well as any prize whose withholding base is €300 or less.

So it’s up to you to work out your net gambling gain and declare it in your annual IRPF return. Licensed operators must give you a monthly activity summary on request, covering logins, deposits, gaming history and spending (Royal Decree 176/2023, art. 18), which can help you add up the year.

The 20% special levy on lottery prizes

Lottery prizes covered by the special levy don’t go into your IRPF base. Instead, under the 33rd additional provision of the IRPF law, they pay a 20% special levy (“gravamen especial”) on the part above €40,000. It covers:

• lotteries and bets of the state lottery company, Sociedad Estatal Loterías y Apuestas del Estado (SELAE), and of regional (autonomous community) bodies;
• draws by the Spanish Red Cross (Cruz Roja Española);
• games authorized to ONCE, the Spanish national organization of the blind;
• equivalent public or non-profit lotteries in other EU or European Economic Area countries.

How it works:

• Prizes of €40,000 or less are exempt. Above that, only the excess is taxed.
• The rate is 20%, collected by withholding when the prize is paid.
• Small tickets get a smaller exemption. The full exemption applies to tickets or bets of at least €0.50; below that, it’s reduced proportionally.
• Shared prizes are prorated. If several people share a prize, the exemption is split according to each person’s share.
• Self-assessment only without withholding. You have to file a self-assessment only if no withholding was applied to a prize above the exempt amount.

The levy doesn’t cover prizes from private licensed operators, such as online casinos, sportsbooks, poker and bingo: those are capital gains in the general base, as described above.

Worked example: a €100,000 lottery prize

The prize doesn’t go into your IRPF base. A prize of €40,000 or less pays no levy at all.

Reporting foreign accounts and crypto: Modelo 720 and 721

Two information returns cover assets held outside Spain: Modelo 720 for foreign accounts and Modelo 721 for crypto held with foreign custodians. Both have €50,000 thresholds, under the general tax management regulation (Royal Decree 1065/2007, arts. 42 bis and 42 quater).

Whether balances held in online gaming accounts or e-wallets abroad must be reported in Modelo 720 is unclear: no official guidance on the point was found. If you hold large sums outside Spain, check with a tax adviser.

Prediction-market gains

No AEAT guidance specific to prediction-market or event-contract gains had been found as of October 1, 2026, so how they would be taxed is unclear. Prediction markets aren’t licensed in Spain either: see are prediction markets legal in Spain.

The bottom line

If you live in Spain, net winnings from licensed online gambling are capital gains in the IRPF general base, paid without withholding, so you declare them yourself, and gambling losses only count up to the same year’s gambling gains. Prizes from SELAE, ONCE, Cruz Roja and regional lotteries instead pay a 20% levy on the part above €40,000, withheld at source: €12,000 on a €100,000 prize. Whether gaming balances abroad belong in Modelo 720, and how prediction-market gains are taxed, is unclear, so check with a tax adviser. If gambling is costing you more than you planned, see where to get help for gambling problems in Spain.

This page is general information, not legal or tax advice. It reflects Spanish tax rules as of October 1, 2026; a tax adviser (asesor fiscal) can help with your own situation.