Draws for today Thursday, August 20: schedules of National Lottery, Primitiva, EuroDreams, Bonoloto, and ONCE Daily Coupon

ONCE has a unique regime for its lotteries: the game modalities are reserved by law in its favor, but the creation of new draws or products requires a chain of procedures involving both ONCE's internal bodies and several bodies of the General State Administration (Council of Ministers, ministries, and the Protectorate Council).

1. Basic legal framework

The basis of the system is Law 13/2011, on game regulation, which:

• Maintains the exclusive reservation of state-wide lotteries in favor of SELAE and ONCE (art. 4 and first additional provision), authorizing the State to specify the modalities that ONCE can operate.
• Recognizes in its second additional provision the particular regime of ONCE, developed by specific regulations and the General Government–ONCE Agreement.

On this basis are founded:

• The Royal Decree 358/1991, reorganizing ONCE, modified by Royal Decree 1127/2021, which adjusts the competences of the Protectorate Council and the game authorization procedure (BOE link).
• The Royal Decree 1336/2005, authorizing the operation of ONCE's instant or pre-drawn lottery.
• The General Government–ONCE Agreement 2022‑2031, approved by the Council of Ministers on 11-2-2021, which specifies limits, commercial conditions, and parameters of lottery modalities.
• The regulations of each lottery modality (coupon, active game, instant lottery), published by resolutions of the Secretary of State for Social Rights, for example:
  • Resolution of April 4, 2023, new Regulation of the “ONCE Coupon” (BOE-A-2023-9031).
  • Resolution of April 4, 2023, new Regulation of “ONCE Active Game” (BOE-A-2023-9032).
  • Resolution of April 4, 2023, new Regulation of “ONCE Instant Ticket Lottery” (BOE-A-2023-9030), later modified several times and significantly by the Resolution of January 29, 2026 (BOE-A-2026-3283).

2. New modalities vs. new products

It is key to distinguish two levels:

• New lottery modalities (for example, authorizing instant lottery for the first time, or a radically different modality): require a formal State authorization –in practice, agreement of the Council of Ministers– under Law 13/2011 and the twentieth additional provision of Law 46/1985 on Budgets.
• New products or variants within already authorized modalities (new scratch cards, changes in coupon conditions, active games like “Triplex”, “Super 11”, etc.): are processed as modification or regulatory development of the existing modality.

3. Procedure to authorize new ONCE draws or products

3.1. Internal decision at ONCE

• The ONCE General Council or its Standing Executive Commission approve an Agreement defining the new product: type of draw, price, prize structure, frequency, sales channels, etc.
• This agreement is embodied in a reform of the product Regulation of the corresponding modality (Coupon, Active Game, Instant Lottery) or in the incorporation of a new appendix to the current regulation.

3.2. State control and publication in BOE

• The ONCE agreement is sent to the Protectorate Council (a collegiate body including the General State Administration), which exercises the protectorate and, regarding gaming, assumes the functions generally held by the gaming regulatory authority according to Law 13/2011 and Royal Decree 958/2020.
• In practice, new products and regulatory changes are formalized by Resolution of the Secretary of State for Social Rights, which:
  • “Publishes the approval” of the new regulation or its modification.
  • “Publicizes the implementation, launch, and, if applicable, termination” of the specific products.
  • Orders its publication in the BOE, where the legal regime of the draw becomes official and enforceable (for example, the Resolution of January 29, 2026 cited above).

3.3. High-level authorizations (Council of Ministers)

When it comes to authorizing new lottery modalities or reviewing structural elements of the reservation:

• The procedure is regulated in Royal Decree 358/1991, modified by Royal Decree 1127/2021, which updates article 7 and foresees that the Council of Ministers grants game authorizations to ONCE.
• Mandatory reports or approvals must be obtained from at least:
  • The Ministry of Finance and Public Administration, due to revenue and budget impact.
  • The Ministry of the Interior, due to connection with the general gaming regime established since Law 46/1985 and Royal Decree-law 16/1977.
• The Council of Ministers' agreement aligns with the General Government–ONCE Agreement 2022‑2031, which sets billing limits, number and type of products, and other competitiveness and responsible gaming conditions.

4. Government's margin of discretion

The Government has a broad capacity for configuration in authorizing new modalities and setting global limits and conditions (through the General Agreement and Council of Ministers' authorizations). However:

• Within the framework set by that General Agreement and modality authorizations, ONCE has a significant operational margin to design and propose new products.
• The procedure for those specific products is more regulated: once verified by the Administration (Protectorate Council / Secretary of State) that the regulation complies with legal limits and the General Agreement, approval is formalized in resolutions published in the BOE, without needing a new Council of Ministers agreement each time.

In summary, ONCE cannot unilaterally launch a new draw: it must organize it internally, submit it to State control through the Protectorate Council and the Secretary of State for Social Rights, and, when it involves a new modality or a structural leap, also obtain formal authorization from the Council of Ministers with the required ministerial reports.

The State Company Loterías y Apuestas del Estado (SELAE) is a public company attached to the Ministry of Finance responsible for managing state-owned lotteries. Its central role is that of a public game operator, not regulator: the regulatory function corresponds to the competent gaming administration (currently, the Ministry of Social Rights, Consumption and Agenda 2030 through the General Directorate for the Regulation of Gambling, DGOJ), within the framework of Law 13/2011 on game regulation.

Public operator of state lotteries

According to specialized press and various official notes, Law 13/2011 reserves state-wide lotteries to operators designated by the law itself. Among them is SELAE, which has as main functions:

• Manage, operate, and market state-owned lotteries, such as National Lottery, Christmas Lottery, Niño Lottery, La Primitiva, Bonoloto, El Gordo de la Primitiva, Euromillions, or La Quiniela, among others (described in several Demócrata pieces about SELAE and these games).
• Organize the draws, establish their calendar, design game modalities, and set participation rules and prize configuration for each product, within the general gaming regulatory framework.
• Publish official results and channel prize payments, differentiating between minor prizes, paid through the commercial network, and major prizes, paid through financial entities authorized by SELAE (several news items about Bonoloto, La Primitiva, and Gordo de la Primitiva explicitly explain this).
• Manage the sales network (integral administrations and mixed points), setting basic economic conditions (commissions, contractual obligations, in-person and online sales channels) and procedures for prize verification and payment.

Internal controls, prizes, and fraud and money laundering prevention

The Resolution of May 8, 2025, of the Joint Commission for Relations with the Court of Auditors, regarding the audit of SELAE's prize control system in 2022 (BOE-A-2025-14671), shows another key dimension of its competences:

• Internally regulate participation requirements and prohibitions “for all games,” developing the general gaming regulation. SELAE is urged to approve a homogeneous internal rule for this purpose.
• Apply systems to prevent money laundering and terrorist financing, with a specific Operational Unit, procedures to analyze risks, report suspicious operations to the Executive Service of the Commission for the Prevention of Money Laundering and Monetary Offenses, and coordinate with prize-paying financial entities.
• Improve its IT systems to assess and detect fraud risks, as well as document prize payments and information traceability.
• Manage unclaimed prizes and report their destination (the resolution asks SELAE to detail the destination of 3.539 million euros of unclaimed prizes in 2022).

These obligations show that SELAE not only sells lottery: it has advanced operational competences in integrity control, traceability, and compliance in prize management.

Role in game regulation: execution, not normative

The strict regulatory function of state gaming lies with the General Directorate for the Regulation of Gambling. The DGOJ itself reminds, in resolutions published in the BOE (for example, the Resolution of August 6, 2025, on a market research agreement for betting, BOE-A-2025-16820), that its functions are “to oversee and ensure the integrity, security, reliability, and transparency of gaming operations, as well as guarantee compliance with current regulations and conditions established for their operation.”

In this scheme:

• The DGOJ and the competent Ministry set the regulatory framework: licenses, limits, responsible gaming rules, sanctions, etc.
• SELAE acts as a regulated operator, applying responsible gaming rules, addiction prevention, and consumer protection approved for all operators (online and, where applicable, regulated lotteries).
• SELAE collaborates with other administrations (Finance, Consumption, anti-money laundering bodies) through information exchange on prizes and transactions, according to current regulations and specific agreements.

Social dimension and financing of public policies

Various notes from the Ministry of Finance also highlight another aspect of SELAE: its role as a financier of social and health projects. For example, the agreement with the Spanish Association Against Cancer for 13.3 million euros until 2029 (Ministry of Finance note) or similar agreements with Cáritas.

This activity is not “regulation” in the strict sense, but reinforces the idea that public lotteries managed by SELAE are conceived as activities of public interest, whose revenues contribute both to the general State budget and to specific social programs.

In summary, SELAE is the state lottery operator: it designs and operates games, manages the network and prize payments, implements control, fraud, and laundering systems, and channels a significant part of resources toward public purposes. The power to regulate gaming (define market rules, protect players, and sanction operators) corresponds to regulatory bodies, mainly the DGOJ, before which SELAE acts as an obligated and collaborating subject.

In Spain, when a cash or in-kind prize exceeds 2,000 euros (public lotteries, ONCE, raffles, draws, contests, or commercial promotions), the winner cannot simply “cash it at the counter.” The law requires a combination of formal identification, payment method control, tax compliance, and anti-money laundering prevention that conditions the right to payment.

1. Payment through financial entity and formal identification

In the case of official lotteries (Loterías y Apuestas del Estado, ONCE, regional lotteries), payment rules distinguish between minor and major prizes:

• Prizes under 2,000 euros can be collected at authorized sales points, even in cash or through means like Bizum, as explained by Loterías y Apuestas del Estado on its official channels and reported by specialized press.
• Prizes equal to or above 2,000 euros must necessarily be paid through collaborating financial entities (authorized banks), where the winner must identify themselves with their DNI, NIE, or passport and present the original ticket or, if the game is online, follow the procedure established by the operator.

The resolution of the Joint Commission for Relations with the Court of Auditors on SELAE's prize control urges that financial entities send Loterías the identification documentation of recipients and that the Executive Service of the Commission for the Prevention of Money Laundering be informed of operations where such identification documentation of the winner or real beneficiary was not obtained.

2. Limits on cash payment

Payment of significant prizes is affected by general limits on cash use. Anti-fraud regulations (modification introduced by Law 11/2021 on measures to prevent and combat fraud) establish that:

• Operations of 1,000 euros or more cannot be paid in cash when one party is a businessperson or professional, as noted in informative guides on the “cash payment limit” (explanatory article).
• The limit applies to the total operation amount, even if payment is attempted to be split into smaller amounts.

In practice, this means a prize over 2,000 euros cannot be fully paid in cash by a game operator or professional draw promoter: it must be channeled by transfer or another nominative banking method.

3. Tax obligations of the winner

For many public lottery and betting prizes, the special tax on prizes from certain lotteries and bets applies, introduced by Law 16/2012. The Tax Agency and cited explanatory articles list basic rules:

• There is a 40,000-euro exemption threshold per winning ticket; below that amount, the prize is not taxed under this levy (tax explanation).
• The portion of the prize exceeding 40,000 euros is taxed at 20 %; withholding is applied directly at payment by LAE, ONCE, or another organizer.
• The person subject to withholding does not have to file a specific self-assessment for the prize; the organizer declares the withholding through informative forms (230, 270) and reports the amount and recipient data to the Tax Agency.

For prizes from online gaming, raffles, random combinations without advertising purposes, or other contests, the Tax Agency reminds in its Income Tax campaign documentation that gains must be declared as capital gains or losses in the IRPF, entered in the section for game and raffle prizes. The taxpayer is obliged to:

• Keep documentation of payment and justification of amounts won and played.
• Include net gains in their IRPF declaration when applicable.

4. Money laundering prevention and traceability

Law 10/2010 on money laundering prevention imposes duties of due diligence and client identification on financial entities and game operators. Specialized press reports, for example, that:

• From a certain threshold (in practice, from amounts around 1,000 euros in cash operations), banks must identify the client and record the movement, reporting unusual or suspicious operations to authorities (analysis on cash control).
• SELAE is obliged to strengthen prize payment control and report to the Executive Service for Money Laundering Prevention cases where financial entities do not provide identification documentation of the prize recipient.

In practice, the winner may be required not only to provide identity documents but also clarifications about the origin or destination of funds and additional documentation if the operation is considered risky.

5. Additional specific requirements

• Respect for expiration deadlines: public lottery prizes usually expire three months from the day after the draw, so the participant must claim within that period.
• Shared prizes: it is essential to prove in writing who the participants were and in what percentage, to avoid subsequent distributions being considered disguised donations.
• Prohibited registries: those registered in the self-exclusion registry cannot claim certain prizes, as ONCE has recently reminded: the organization must check the player's status before paying the amount.

In summary, to legally collect a prize over 2,000 euros in Spain, the participant must fully identify themselves, accept payment through traceable banking channels, comply with tax obligations, and undergo anti-money laundering checks, in addition to respecting the game rules and expiration deadlines.