Spain’s Supreme Court partially reviews restrictions on gambling advertisements, benefiting operators in the sector.
The country’s Supreme Court issued a ruling partially in favor of the gambling operators’ appeal.
Online gambling trade body Jdigital challenged restrictions imposed by a royal decree in 2020.
In November, the Constitutional Court had rejected Jdigital’s appeal against Royal Decree 958/2020.
However, the Supreme Court has now partially ruled in favor of the association. Although the ban on sponsorship of betting games at sporting events and restricted hours for television advertising remain in place. Thus, the court annulled several other aspects of the decree.
The court revoked article 13, which prohibited the targeting of advertising to players with less than 30 days of registration, and sections of articles 23, 25 and 26 that prohibited advertising on social networks and video-sharing platforms.
Previously, the decree restricted advertising on social networks to existing customers only, but operators are now allowed to advertise to all users over 18 years of age.
Furthermore, the court struck down Article 15, which prohibited the use of celebrities in advertising, and the ban on advertisements in places selling lottery games was also removed.
Drafted by the then Minister of Consumer Affairs, Alberto Garzón, and implemented in November 2020, the regulations aimed to reduce the exposure of minors to gambling advertising.
However, the Supreme Court concluded that several measures lacked legal basis and imposed excessive restrictions on legitimate business activity.
Reinforcement in the supervision of Winnings in betting games and cryptocurrencies
The Spanish Tax Agency is increasing oversight of winnings from gambling and cryptocurrencies. Director Soledad Fernández announced increased scrutiny of profits, issuing 2.9 million notices to taxpayers, including 64,000 about gambling winnings.
In 2022, the rules require the declaration of all winnings, replacing the previous limit of 300 euros. The tax rate follows a tiered system, ranging from 19% to 45% as earnings increase. The measure reflects the search for more comprehensive and fair taxation on various sources of income.
