EuroDreams today: result of Monday, August 17 and winning numbers

To modify the regulation of lottery games in Spain, it is generally necessary to amend the state legislation that regulates them through an ordinary law. The procedure is the same as for any state-level legal reform and is practically carried out through a government bill or a private member's bill initiated by parliament or society.

1. Type of initiative and who can promote it

Lottery regulation is the competence of the State, so the modification must be made through a state law processed in the Cortes Generales. There are two main routes:

• Government bill: this is the most common route when it comes to regulated and heavily intervened sectors. The procedure begins with the approval of a preliminary draft by the Council of Ministers, which transforms it into a bill and submits it to the Congress of Deputies.
• Private member's bill: it can be presented by:
  • Parliamentary groups or a minimum number of deputies from the Congress.
  • The Senate.
  • Legislative assemblies of the autonomous communities.
  • Citizens, through popular legislative initiative (if signature requirements, etc., are met).
  Its purpose is the same as that of a bill: to create, modify, or repeal norms with the rank of law.

Alongside these figures, there is the non-legislative motion (PNL), which only serves to politically urge the Government to modify the regulation but does not change it by itself.

2. Processing in the Congress of Deputies

2.1. Qualification and consideration

Once the bill or private member's bill arrives at the Congress:

• The Board of the Congress qualifies and admits it for processing, verifying that it meets formal requirements.
• In the case of private member's bills (not bills), a consideration must be held in Plenary: deputies decide, by simple majority, whether to accept debating and processing that reform. If it is not considered, the initiative lapses.

2.2. Amendments, committee, and subcommittee

Once the initiative is admitted, a period for amendments opens, where groups can:

• Submit total amendments (requesting to return the text to the Government or that it be completely replaced).
• Submit article-by-article amendments, modifying specific aspects of the lottery regulation (definitions, limits, sanctioning regime, distribution of competences, etc.).

Amendments are usually processed in the competent committee (for example, the one handling gaming, finance, or consumer affairs, depending on how the matter is distributed in that legislature):

• A subcommittee is appointed, a small group of deputies who work on the text and amendments and draft a report.
• The committee debates and votes on that report and the amendments, and approves a report, which is the text of the law to be submitted to the Plenary.

2.3. Debate and vote in Plenary

The Congress Plenary debates the committee report. Last-minute amendments (maintenance or transactional amendments) may be submitted. The vote is governed by:

• Simple majority (more votes in favor than against) to approve an ordinary law that modifies lottery regulation.

Once the text is approved by the Congress, the reform passes to the Senate.

3. Processing in the Senate

The Senate receives the text from the Congress and also processes it in committee and Plenary:

• It can approve it without changes (the law would be ready for sanction and promulgation).
• It can approve amendments, modifying the text.
• It can approve a veto (total rejection) by absolute majority.

If the Senate introduces amendments or a veto, the text returns to the Congress:

• The Senate veto can be lifted by absolute majority in an immediate vote or, after two months, by simple majority.
• The Senate amendments are accepted or rejected by simple majority of the Congress.

4. Role of the Government and final phase

Even if the initiative is not from the Government, it:

• Can take a position in debates (for or against) and negotiate amendments.
• Controls the agenda of the Council of Ministers and, in practice, the subsequent regulatory application (development through regulations).

Once definitively approved by the Cortes Generales, the reform is sent to the King for sanction and promulgation, and published in the Official State Gazette. From its entry into force, the new regulation of lottery games becomes applicable.

The State Company Loterías y Apuestas del Estado (SELAE) is the public company attached to the Ministry of Finance responsible for managing, operating, and marketing state-owned lotteries in Spain. This includes games such as the National Lottery, La Primitiva, Bonoloto, Euromillions, El Gordo de la Primitiva, La Quiniela, and also European draws marketed in Spain through SELAE, such as EuroDreams. Its powers combine an exclusive legal mandate to operate these lotteries with very specific functions of organizing draws, prize control, and ensuring game integrity.

Legal basis and general framework

SELAE's activity is mainly supported by Law 13/2011, regulating gaming. This law:

• Exclusively reserves the operation of state-wide lotteries to operators designated by the law itself. The first additional provision designates SELAE (along with ONCE, in its scope) as one of those exclusive state lottery operators.
• Places these lotteries under a specific legal regime, so they cannot be organized or sold by private operators on their own, unlike promotional raffles or purely commercial games.

In parallel, the public sector defines SELAE's status as a state commercial company, dependent on the Ministry of Finance, channeling significant revenues for public coffers and partly for social purposes through agreements with third-sector entities, as shown by agreements with the Spanish Association Against Cancer or Cáritas published by the Ministry of Finance.

Powers over draws (including EuroDreams)

In practice, SELAE's powers over draws like EuroDreams can be grouped into several blocks:

1. Organization and design of the games

• Product definition: game rules, draw mechanics, prize categories, bet price, frequency (e.g., Monday and Thursday draws for EuroDreams), and participation conditions.
• Draw scheduling: setting calendars, draw times, and result dissemination. Notes and draw reports emphasize that SELAE establishes the official programming of games like Bonoloto, La Primitiva, or EuroDreams.
• For European games like Euromillions or EuroDreams, SELAE acts as the Spanish operator within a multinational framework, participating in the joint design of the game and ensuring its implementation in Spain complies with national regulations.

2. Marketing and sales network

• Management of the official network: SELAE sets the operating conditions for lottery administrations and authorized points of sale, as well as sales through its own and third-party telematic channels, as highlighted in information about conflicts with lottery retailers over online sales.
• In-person and online sales: promotes marketing both at counters and through its Internet platform, setting rules so that participant identification and transaction security comply with gaming and anti-money laundering regulations.

3. Prize management and economic control

• Prize management and payment: SELAE organizes the prize payment system, from smaller amounts paid at lottery offices to large prizes processed through collaborating financial institutions and specific channels.
• Prize documentation control: The Court of Auditors' audit report for 2022 and the Joint Commission Resolution (BOE-A-2025-14671) show that SELAE must have systems ensuring proper documentation and traceability of payments, as well as control over unclaimed prizes.
• Anti-money laundering prevention: the same resolution urges strengthening the independence and resources of the prevention unit, improving IT systems to detect fraud risks, and accelerating communication to the Executive Service of the Anti-Money Laundering Commission in case of suspicious operations (e.g., repeated collection of high prizes).

4. Internal regulation and compliance

• Internal regulations for all games: SELAE is requested to approve internal rules that uniformly regulate participation requirements and prohibitions in all its games, developing general gaming regulations.
• Relationship with financial entities: SELAE must exercise contractual powers over collaborating banks to require them to collect and send documentation of prize recipients, and even claim chargebacks when such documentation is missing.

In summary

In draws like EuroDreams, SELAE is not limited to “publishing results”: it is the exclusive public operator that designs the game in Spain, organizes the draws, manages the commercial network, administers and controls prize payments, and ensures all this is done under the requirements of Law 13/2011, anti-money laundering regulations, and the control guidelines of the Court of Auditors. This combination of legal monopoly, revenue function, and strong integrity and transparency obligations defines its central role in managing state lotteries.

In Spain, to claim high-value prizes from gambling games (lotteries, bets, casinos, bingo, online gaming, etc.) there is a combination of winner identification, anti-money laundering prevention, and tax obligations. Although precise details may vary depending on the type of game and operator, there are fairly stable common principles.

1. Winner identification

From relatively modest amounts (in practice, from about €2,000 in cash and, in most operators, for any significant claim), it is mandatory to:

• Provide a valid DNI, NIE, or passport.
• Identify with the same data that appear on the ticket, coupon, or online gaming account.
• In online gaming, the account must be verified (identity documentation validated by the operator).

This identification is required both by gaming regulations and by anti-money laundering legislation, which obliges knowing the client when operations exceed certain amounts or are considered risky.

2. Limits on cash payment and anti-money laundering controls

For high prizes, it is common that payment:

• Is made by bank transfer or nominative check, not in cash.
• Requires indicating a bank account in the winner's name.

Additionally:

• For anti-money laundering, entities and operators must report suspicious or significant operations to authorities (SEPBLAC).
• If entering or leaving Spain with €10,000 or more in cash (or moving €100,000 within the country), the corresponding declaration must be submitted to the Tax Agency. This affects, for example, if the prize is withdrawn in cash and physically transported.

3. Tax requirements for high prizes

From a tax perspective, there are two main blocks:

a) Public lotteries and similar

Prizes from:

• Lotteries and bets of SELAE (National Lottery, Primitiva, Euromillions, etc.).
• ONCE, Red Cross, and other authorized analogous games.

Are subject to a special tax from a certain exempt minimum (e.g., €40,000 for recent years). On the part of the prize exceeding that minimum, an automatic withholding at a fixed rate (around 20% in recent years) is applied.

In practice:

• The payer (lottery office/collaborating bank) directly withholds the tax.
• The winner receives the amount net of withholding.
• The prize is not integrated again into the general IRPF base; it is declared, if applicable, in the specific section of “special tax on lottery prizes.”

b) Casinos, bets, private online gaming, bingo, etc.

In other private gambling games (physical casinos, private sports bets, online poker, slot machines, private bingo):

• There is generally no specific automatic withholding on the prize.
• Gains are considered capital gains in the taxpayer's IRPF.
• Tax is paid on the difference between gains and losses from gaming during the year, within the limits set by regulations.

For high prizes, the operator may be obliged to inform the Tax Agency and, in any case, the taxpayer must keep receipts and reflect the net result in their declaration.

4. Subjective prohibitions: who cannot claim

Gaming laws establish that:

• Minors cannot legally participate in gambling, so they should not be able to claim prizes; in practice, the operator may refuse and cancel the participation.
• Persons registered in prohibited gaming registers or subject to self-exclusion (very relevant in in-person and online gaming) cannot be admitted as players; if detected, prize payment may be blocked.

5. Keeping receipts and deadlines

For high prizes it is essential to:

• Keep the ticket, coupon, bet slip, or digital receipt until claiming.
• Respect the expiration deadlines for the prize (e.g., in many public lotteries the deadline is three months from the draw).
• Keep the claim receipt (prize certificate or transfer receipt) in case the Tax Agency requires it.

6. Practical recommendation

When facing a very high prize, prudence suggests:

• Always claim it via banking channels and with full identification.
• Consult a tax advisor before reinvesting or moving large sums.
• Check the specific conditions of the entity (bank, casino, online operator) and updated information from the Tax Agency on gaming taxation.