Raffles like the ONCE Cuponazo are not typical "private raffles," but rather state-wide lotteries subject to a very strict and reserved regime. Spanish legislation reserves state lotteries exclusively for the State Society of Lotteries and State Bets and the National Organization of Spanish Blind People (ONCE), under intense public control and with the purpose of financing social goals, according to the Law 13/2011, on gambling regulation. For each modality (such as the Coupon/Cuponazo), there is a specific regulation approved by ONCE and verified by the Protectorate Council, which is published in the BOE as a guarantee for consumers. In practice, an operator other than these entities cannot legally organize a Cuponazo-type raffle, because the activity is reserved and subject to very specific authorizations and controls.

Basic legal framework for gambling and ONCE lotteries

The Law 13/2011, on gambling regulation, is the state reference norm for the exploitation of state-wide games, including those developed by electronic means. The law:

• Subjects the exercise of gambling activities to the prior obtaining of a qualifying title (licenses and authorizations) and defines its granting and extinction regime (Law 13/2011).
• Establishes public order protection requirements, fraud and money laundering prevention, as well as the need for a “scaled gambling offer.”
• Regulates objective and subjective prohibitions, especially for minors and persons registered in exclusion lists, and sets principles for responsible gambling advertising.
• Maintains the reservation of state-wide lottery activity in favor of the State Society of Lotteries and State Bets and ONCE, which must be subject to strict public control.

The development of licenses, authorizations, and registries is detailed in the Royal Decree 1614/2011, which specifies:

• The procedure to obtain qualifying titles and the causes for their extinction.
• The economic guarantees that operators must provide (allocated to prize payments and tax and sanction obligations).
• The creation and operation of the General Registry of Licenses and the General Registry of Gambling Access Prohibitions, key to controlling access of excluded persons.

Uniqueness of ONCE and social purpose

ONCE is a public law corporation of social character, with its own legal personality and full capacity to act, whose gambling activity is aimed at financing its social purposes of supporting blind or severely visually impaired persons. Its Statutes, published by the Order SCB/1240/2019, emphasize that:

• It is a public gambling operator of recognized prestige subject to “strict public control.”
• It holds several lottery modalities of the state reservation, whose resources are applied to fulfilling its social purposes.
• It acts under the State Protectorate, through a Council that supervises, among other things, its gambling rules.

This uniqueness is reinforced in the specific regulations of the Coupon and Active Game, which recall that ONCE enjoys a set of public authorizations in gambling matters to finance its social purposes, in accordance with Law 13/2011 and other cited norms.

Specific regulation of the Coupon and Cuponazo

The specific organizational requirements for raffles like the Cuponazo are in the Regulation of the “ONCE Coupon” modality, approved by Resolution of April 4, 2023. This regulation, framed within Law 13/2011, ONCE regulations, and the General Government–ONCE Agreement, establishes that:

• The ONCE Coupon is a state-wide lottery included in the definition of lottery in article 3 of Law 13/2011.
• Within this modality, the ONCE General Council has approved three products: Daily Coupon, Cuponazo, and Weekend Coupon, as well as annual extraordinary raffles.
• Ticket purchase is subject to the prohibitions, verifications, and controls of applicable regulations, included in the Regulation itself (protection of minors, identity controls, etc.).
• Raffles are held one or more days per week; the quarterly calendar is published in the BOE and on ONCE’s official gambling website (Resolution 4/4/2023), as a guarantee for consumers.
• Marketing can be done through preprinted tickets, point-of-sale terminals, and the Internet, as well as other material or electronic media, provided they fully guarantee consumers and protect minors.

Public control, consumers, and protection of minors

Law 13/2011 imposes on all state-wide gambling operators, including ONCE, a series of participant protection obligations:

• Provide sufficient information for conscious selection of gambling activities, promoting moderate and responsible gambling.
• Explicitly inform about the prohibition of participation by minors and those listed in the Gambling Access Prohibitions Registry.
• Prohibition of granting loans or credits to participants.
• Present a Measures Plan on responsible gambling management and contribution to society (participation in repairing negative effects of gambling, etc.).

Additionally, the regulations provide a regime of infractions and sanctions (including possible license loss) and a system of economic guarantees specifically linked to prize payments and compliance with tax and sanction obligations (Royal Decree 1614/2011).

Practical consequence: who can organize a “Cuponazo”

Within this framework, a raffle like the Cuponazo can only be organized by ONCE as a state lottery operator within the state reservation, according to its authorizations and its regulation published in the BOE. Any other operator attempting to market an equivalent product without being within this reservation and without the qualifying titles and controls mentioned would be engaging in illegal gambling according to Law 13/2011.

According to current regulations, ONCE is a public law corporation of social character whose main function is to provide social services that guarantee personal autonomy, rehabilitation, and full social inclusion of blind or severely visually impaired persons, also exercising delegated public functions throughout Spanish territory. To fulfill these purposes, it is mainly financed through the lottery modalities it holds and operates under a regime of strict public control. Its competencies are articulated in three main areas: mission and social services, gambling regime and financing, and internal self-organization and relations with the Administration.

Basic legal framework

The legal configuration, purposes, and main functions of ONCE are mainly contained in Royal Decree 358/1991, of March 15, and its subsequent modifications, as well as in the organization's current Statutes:

• Reorganization of ONCE: Royal Decree 358/1991.
• Relevant modifications: Royal Decree 1200/1999, Royal Decree 394/2011, Royal Decree 1152/2015, and Royal Decree 1127/2021.
• Current ONCE Statutes: Order SCB/1240/2019.
• Instant lottery: Royal Decree 1336/2005 (modified, among others, by [link] and by Royal Decree 1152/2015 itself).

Mission, purposes, and social services

After the 2011 reform of Royal Decree 394/2011, article 2 of Royal Decree 358/1991 defines ONCE’s mission and social purposes:

• Direct its actions towards personal autonomy, full social inclusion, equal opportunities, non-discrimination, and the effective enjoyment of citizenship rights by its members.
• Provide a set of services, benefits, and activities that must include at least:
  • Educational inclusion.
  • Training and labor insertion.
  • Comprehensive rehabilitation and personal autonomy.
  • Universal accessibility and design for all.
  • R&D&i in blindness, severe visual impairment, and tiflotechnology.
  • Accessible bibliographic funds and access to culture.
  • Cultural development and sports.
  • Information and improvement of social perception of blindness and ONCE itself.

The consolidated 2019 Statutes, published by Order SCB/1240/2019, reaffirm this mission and expressly link it to article 49 of the Constitution, the UN Convention on Disability, and the social economy framework.

Relationship with public administrations

ONCE acts under the State protectorate, exercised through the Protectorate Council regulated in article 8 of Royal Decree 358/1991, reinforced and updated by Royal Decree 1127/2021. Its functions include:

• Control of ONCE’s economic and social activity.
• Verification and control of gambling modalities (including instant lottery regulated by Royal Decree 1336/2005).
• Approval and publication of ONCE’s Statutes and their modifications (such as the coupon regulations and their development in successive resolutions).

Article 2 of Royal Decree 358/1991 also establishes that ONCE collaborates complementarily with public administrations in social policies and employment of persons with disabilities, being able to sign cooperation agreements in labor integration, special employment centers, and social action.

Competencies in gambling and financing

The authorization and exploitation regime of games is a central part of its material functions:

• Article 7 of Royal Decree 358/1991 (modified by Royal Decree 1152/2015 and Royal Decree 1127/2021) subjects ONCE to a strict authorization regime by the Council of Ministers for the coupon and other lottery modalities.
• It is attributed the exploitation of instant or pre-drawn lottery, with its own direction, organization, and exploitation, under the terms of Royal Decree 1336/2005, developed by multiple resolutions on specific products such as the coupon, the “Cuponazo,” or active game ([active game], [Active Game and Triplex], [Cuponazo], [Weekend], [coupon], [Cuponazo], and others).
• The net income from these lotteries must be allocated to the same social purposes and obligations as other authorized games (Royal Decree 1336/2005).

Additionally, article 7 enables ONCE to sign joint marketing agreements of lottery products with other European operators, always under verification by the Protectorate Council.

Internal self-organization and governing functions

As a public law corporation with a private associative base, ONCE enjoys full self-organization capacity. The highest governing body is the General Council, whose competencies are detailed in article 4 of Royal Decree 358/1991, modified by Royal Decree 1200/1999 and Royal Decree 1152/2015. Its functions include:

• Approving Statutes and internal rules, as well as the organic and functional structure of the organization.
• Defining general action plans, approving budgets, annual accounts, and exercising ordinary financial control.
• Proposing and managing the coupon regime and other games within authorized limits, informing the Protectorate Council.
• Appointing and dismissing the General Director and main managers of the ONCE Business Group and ONCE Foundation.
• Representing ONCE in national and international bodies and before the European Union.

In summary, ONCE’s competencies and functions combine a legal mandate of social protection for visually impaired persons with the management, under strong public control, of state lotteries whose proceeds finance that mission, all with broad internal self-organization powers subject to the State protectorate.

Other specific developments on gambling products and regulations can be consulted, among others, in the following resolutions: [Christmas Scratch and others], [instant lottery], [tic-tac-toe], [instant lottery modifications], [appendices 21 and 22], [new instant products], [Super Once], [new products], [Win with the joker], [instant lottery], [Weekend], [active game], [coupon], [instant lottery], [coupon products], and [coupon and active game reform].

The taxation of lottery, betting, and raffle prizes in Spain is mainly structured through the Personal Income Tax (IRPF), the Non-Resident Income Tax (IRNR), and a special levy on certain public lottery prizes. The general framework is in the Law 35/2006 on IRPF and the Royal Legislative Decree 5/2004 on IRNR, complemented by Law 16/2012, which creates the special levy, and by successive Budget Laws that have adjusted the exempt minimum. Additionally, Law 13/2011 on gambling regulation establishes specific taxation on gambling activities (tax on gambling activities). Practical management (forms, withholdings, and informative declarations) is developed through several royal decrees and ministerial orders.

1. IRPF and special levy on lottery prizes

The basic IRPF regime is contained in Law 35/2006 on IRPF. This norm regulates, on one hand, the general taxation of prizes from games, raffles, and random combinations and, on the other, the special levy on prizes from certain lotteries and bets:

• Prizes from “private” games, contests, raffles, or random combinations: article 101 of Law 35/2006 establishes that the withholding and payment on account percentage on “prizes awarded as a consequence of participation in games, contests, raffles, or random combinations” is 19%. These prizes are integrated into the IRPF base as capital gains.
• Prizes from public lotteries and bets: an additional provision of the same law (updated text, visible in the Law 35/2006 itself) regulates the special levy for:
  • Lotteries and bets of the State Society of Lotteries and State Bets and autonomous bodies.
  • Draws of the Spanish Red Cross.
  • Gambling modalities authorized to ONCE.
  • Analogous lotteries and bets of other EU/EEA States with social or welfare purposes.

According to this provision, which incorporates modifications introduced by Law 16/2012 and successive Budget Laws (including Law 6/2018), the current scheme is:

• Exempt prizes: prizes whose full amount is equal to or less than 40,000 euros are exempt from the special levy.
• Proportional limit: if the ticket or bet is less than 0.50 euros, the exempt limit of 40,000 euros is proportionally reduced.
• Shared ownership: if the prize has several co-owners, the exempt limit is prorated among them according to their share.
• Tax base: it is the part of the prize exceeding the exempt amount (in cash) or, in kind, the part of the market value exceeding the limit, adjusted by the withholding.
• Tax rate and withholding: the special levy rate is 20% on the tax base, and the withholding or payment on account percentage is also 20%. The withholding is applied at the time of payment.
• Non-integration into the IRPF base: these prizes are not integrated into the IRPF taxable base; the special levy acts as separate taxation and withholdings are not deductible from the tax quota.

The creation and initial configuration of this special levy was done through Law 16/2012, which also modified other tax norms.

2. IRNR: non-residents who obtain prizes in Spain

For non-residents, the basic norm is Royal Legislative Decree 5/2004, which approves the consolidated text of the Non-Resident Income Tax Law, developed by Royal Decree 1776/2004. Although in the consulted extracts there is no specific article on lottery prizes, the special levy of Law 16/2012 and Law 35/2006 itself also apply to IRNR taxpayers through:

• References in IRPF and IRNR regulations to the special levy.
• Orders of declaration and withholding forms for non-residents, particularly Order HAP/70/2013 (form 230 for special levy withholdings and form 136 for self-assessment) and Order HAP/2368/2013 (form 270, annual summary of the special levy).

These orders have been modified by later norms to adapt their content, such as Order HAC/763/2018, Order HFP/1286/2023, and Order HAC/1431/2025.

In parallel, the management of withholdings and payments on account for non-residents is structured through Order EHA/3290/2008, modified, among others, by Order HAC/646/2024, and by successive regulatory reforms such as Royal Decree 633/2015 and Royal Decree 595/2019.

3. Tax on gambling activities and sector regulation

Besides prize taxation, there is specific taxation on the gambling activity itself. The central piece is Law 13/2011, on gambling regulation, modified by Law 23/2022. This law creates the Tax on Gambling Activities and establishes its basic regime, developed by royal decrees:

• Royal Decree 1613/2011, on technical requirements of gambling activities, and its erratum ([link]).
• Royal Decree 1614/2011, on licenses, authorizations, and registries, with erratum in [link].

Tax and associated fee management is supported by resolutions and orders such as Order HAC/1363/2018 (form 763 of the tax on gambling activities) and resolutions from the Directorate General for Gambling Regulation, for example the 2014 technical specifications resolution (Resolution of October 6, 2014) or the 2024 data monitoring resolution (Resolution of June 6, 2024).

4. IRPF campaigns and informative declarations

Each income tax campaign technically develops prize declaration through annual orders, such as Order HAC/265/2024 (IRPF 2023 forms) or Order HFP/310/2023 (IRPF 2022). Also key is form 190 of withholdings on work income, economic activities, prizes, and capital gains, regulated and successively modified starting with Order HAP/2194/2013 and norms like orders HAP/1626/2016, HFP/1106/2017, HFP/1308/2017, HAC/1285/2020, and HAC/1432/2024.

In summary, the taxation of lottery and gambling prizes combines: IRPF/IRNR for “private” prizes, a separate special levy for public lotteries with exemption up to 40,000 euros and a 20% rate, and the tax on gambling activities that taxes the exploitation of lotteries and bets themselves.