Eurojackpot today, Friday, August 14: jackpot of 17 million, schedule and when the result comes out

To organize a draw similar to Eurojackpot in Spain, it must fit within the framework of Law 13/2011, on the regulation of gambling and its regulatory development, and it must be taken into account that state-level lotteries are reserved for the State Society of Lotteries and Betting (SELAE) and ONCE. Eurojackpot, like Euromillions, is configured as a European cooperative game operated by these public operators, so a private entity cannot, in practice, “set up a Eurojackpot” as a state lottery. However, it can, if applicable, promote other state-level games of chance that are not reserved, following the steps I detail.

1. Verification of the type of game and activity reservation

Law 13/2011 defines the scope of regulation and exclusively reserves state-level lotteries to SELAE and ONCE (preamble and Titles I‑III; BOE-A-2011-9280, amended by Law 23/2022). First step, therefore:

• Determine if the product to be launched is a state-level lottery (tickets, slips, predefined prizes) or a non-reserved game (bets, online games, prediction contests, etc.).
• If it is a state lottery with characteristics similar to Eurojackpot, the exploitation is only legally viable for SELAE or ONCE. A private operator should consider another type of non-reserved game.

2. Obtaining the enabling title (licenses and authorizations)

Every non-reserved state game requires an enabling title, according to Title III of Law 13/2011 and its development in Royal Decree 1614/2011, on licenses, authorizations, and game registers (BOE-A-2011-17836):

• General license: authorizes operating a category of games (bets, contests, other games, etc.). It is granted through a competitive procedure in calls approved by ministerial order (for example, Order HFP/1227/2017 and antecedents).
• Singular license: for each specific type of game (the specific “product” similar to Eurojackpot). Its procedure is regulated in RD 1614/2011 itself and in resolutions of the Directorate General for Gambling Regulation (DGOJ), such as the one from December 1, 2017, on singular licenses (BOE-A-2017-14564).

The application to the DGOJ (now integrated into the Ministry competent in Finance) must include, among others:

• Company data, accreditation of honorability and economic capacity.
• Business plan and operational plan of the game (developed by DGOJ resolution: BOE-A-2011-18057).
• Financial guarantees in favor of the Administration, in the amounts set by regulation.
• Project of game regulations or rules, prize structure, participation conditions, and settlement.

3. Homologation of technical systems and participant control

For games by electronic or interactive means (common in European cooperatives), Royal Decree 1613/2011, on technical requirements (BOE-A-2011-17835), requires:

• Having a “technical game system” (central game unit, internal control system, random number generator, etc.) homologated by the DGOJ.
• Implementing measures of security, traceability, operation registration, and technological contingency plan.
• Complying with specific technical resolutions on specifications, monitoring, and data model, such as those from October 6, 2014, and their modifications in 2018 and 2024 (for example, BOE-A-2014-10302 and BOE-A-2024-12639).
• Implementing the system of participant identification and control of subjective prohibitions (self-excluded registry, minors, linked to operators, etc.).

4. Consumer protection, safe gambling, and advertising

After the reform of Law 13/2011 by Law 23/2022, policies for safer gambling are reinforced (art. 8 and 15 Law 13/2011). The operator must:

• Deploy measures for prevention of addictive behaviors and special protection of risk groups.
• Adapt its advertising to Law 13/2011 and to Royal Decree 958/2020, on commercial communications of gambling activities, partially amended by Royal Decree 176/2023 on safe gambling environments (BOE-A-2023-6735).

5. Territorial, fiscal aspects, and European cooperation

If the game involves physical premises or terminals open to the public, the Autonomous Communities have competencies over the authorization of such establishments, according to Law 13/2011 itself (preamble and territorial scope article), so the following are also required:

• Autonomous licenses for game halls or premises and compliance with autonomous gambling regulations.

Additionally, every operator must comply with:

• Specific fiscal obligations related to gambling (gaming taxes, VAT or exemptions, withholding on prizes subject to IRPF, etc.).
• Information and cooperation duties with the DGOJ and the global betting market investigation service, especially regarding fraud and sports manipulation (introduced by the 2022 reform of Law 13/2011).

In the particular case of products like Euromillions, and presumably Eurojackpot, the specific regulation is articulated through resolutions of SELAE or the competent authority that approve the rules of the European cooperative game (for example, the Resolution of February 6, 2004, on Euromillions: BOE-A-2004-2364). An analogous scheme would be required for any new European cooperative game with Spanish participation, always under activity reservation and public control.

ONCE is a unique gambling operator of non-state ownership, with its own competencies to operate certain state-level lottery modalities, always under strong public control. Its gambling activity is reserved by law and serves to finance its social purposes aimed at blind or severely visually impaired people.

Legal nature and general competencies

ONCE's institutional framework is mainly established in Royal Decree 358/1991, of March 15, which reorganizes ONCE (text in BOE), amended by several subsequent royal decrees. This royal decree:

• Configures ONCE as a public law corporation of social character, with its own legal personality and full capacity for self-organization.
• Recognizes that it enjoys a set of public authorizations in gambling matters to finance its social purposes.
• Subjects it to the State Protectorate, exercised through the Protectorate Council, which controls both its social and gambling activities.

Its Statutes, which develop this configuration and state that ONCE is an “operator of public gambling of recognized prestige subject to strict public control, holder of several state-reserved lottery modalities”, are approved and published by Order SCB/1240/2019, of December 18 (ONCE Statutes).

Reservation and general regime: Law 13/2011 on gambling regulation

The general gambling regime is established in Law 13/2011, of May 27, on gambling regulation (Law 13/2011). This law:

• Defines and organizes state-level gambling activities, with special attention to electronic gambling.
• In its article 4 and in the regulation of lotteries (articles on lottery reservation), establishes that state-level lotteries are reserved to certain operators.
• In the first additional provision, expressly designates ONCE and the State Society of Lotteries and Betting as the only authorized operators for state-level lottery games.
• In the second additional provision, recognizes the singularity of ONCE and maintains its specific regime based on the twentieth additional provision of Law 46/1985, the general Government-ONCE agreements, and Royal Decree 358/1991 itself.

Additionally, Law 13/2011 imposes obligations of collaboration with the tax administration regarding prizes and bets, which also apply to ONCE as a lottery operator (provisions reinforced in its additional provisions and in development regulations such as royal decrees 1613/2011 and 1614/2011).

Specific authorizations: instant lottery and game modalities

Alongside the traditional coupon, ONCE is attributed the exploitation of other lottery modalities through specific regulations:

• Royal Decree 1336/2005, of November 11, authorizing ONCE to operate an instant or pre-drawn lottery (RD 1336/2005). It grants the direction, organization, and operation of this modality nationwide, sets prize ranges, sales limits, and control by the Protectorate Council.
• Royal Decree 1706/2011, of November 18 (RD 1706/2011) updates this regime (prize percentages, maximum issuance volumes, authorization validity until 2031, etc.), with explicit reference to Law 13/2011.

The detailed conditions of each product type are set in Product Regulations approved by ONCE itself and validated by the Protectorate Council, published as resolutions in the BOE. Since 2023, there is a new regulatory block:

• Regulation governing products of the lottery modality called «ONCE Coupon», approved by Resolution of April 4, 2023 (BOE-A-2023-9031).
• Regulation governing products of the modality «ONCE instant ticket lottery», also by Resolution of April 4, 2023 (BOE-A-2023-9030), subsequently heavily modified.
• Regulation governing products of the modality «ONCE Active Game», also approved on April 4, 2023 (BOE-A-2023-9032).

These regulations specify ONCE's operational competencies: definition of products (Daily Coupon, Weekend, Cuponazo, Triplex, Super 11, etc.), prices, prizes, drawing systems, sales channels, payment and claim mechanisms, always within the limits set by Law 13/2011 and under the control of the Protectorate Council and the Directorate General for Gambling Regulation.

Functional summary

In summary, ONCE:

• Is a reserved operator of state-level lotteries together with SELAE.
• Is attributed the direction, organization, and operation of several lottery modalities (coupon, instant lottery, active games).
• Executes these competencies according to a special regime based on Law 13/2011, RD 358/1991, RD 1336/2005 (and its amendments), its Statutes, and the regulations of each product.
• Is subject to intense protectorate and public control, which verifies that the gambling operation is aimed at financing its social purposes and respects the general sector and public finance regulations.

In Spain, claiming a prize from games of chance over 10,000 euros involves legal and tax obligations both for the entity paying the prize and for the claimant. The treatment varies depending on whether it concerns certain public lotteries and bets (with a special tax) or other games (casinos, online bets, promotional draws, etc.).

1. Basic legal framework

The main regulatory basis is Law 35/2006 on Personal Income Tax (IRPF) (BOE) and its subsequent development, in particular:

• The consideration of gambling winnings as capital gains, since they are acquisitions of goods or rights not derived from a prior transfer.
• The thirty-third additional provision, amended by Law 16/2012 (BOE), which creates the special tax on prizes from certain lotteries and bets.
• Ministerial orders such as Order HAP/70/2013 and Order HAP/2368/2013, which regulate declaration models (models 136, 230, and 270) and withholding obligations on those prizes.

2. Prizes from certain lotteries and bets (special tax)

A special tax independent of IRPF applies to prizes (Law 16/2012, article modifying the 33rd additional provision of Law 35/2006):

• Lotteries and bets of the State Society of Lotteries and Betting.
• Lotteries and bets of the Autonomous Communities' bodies or entities.
• Draws of the Spanish Red Cross.
• Game modalities authorized to ONCE.
• Lotteries, bets, and equivalent draws organized by public bodies or non-profit entities in other EU/EEA States, with social or welfare purposes.

For these prizes:

• There is an exempt threshold: up to a certain amount per ticket/coupon/bet (set by current regulations at each moment), the prize is exempt from the special tax.
• Only the portion of the prize exceeding that threshold is taxable, forming the tax base of the special tax.
• The tax rate established by Law 16/2012 is 20% on that base; the paying entity withholds or makes a payment on account of that percentage.
• If the prize has shared ownership, the exempt threshold and the base are prorated among co-owners according to their share.
• The withholding has, in practice, a liberating character: the prize subject to this tax is not included again in the annual IRPF declaration.

3. Other game prizes (casinos, bets, commercial draws…)

Prizes from games that do not fit the above list (for example, casinos, online poker not framed in protected lotteries, company draws, contests with cash or in-kind prizes) are not subject to that special tax. In these cases:

• The prize is a capital gain for the taxpayer (Law 35/2006, article on capital gains: acquisitions of goods and rights not derived from transfer, “such as gambling winnings,” are considered capital gains).
• It must be declared in the IRPF of the year in which the prize is claimed, integrated into the corresponding base as determined by the regulations.
• Losses in gambling are only deductible up to the amount of gambling winnings in the same period, and losses derived from games covered by the 33rd additional provision (Law 35/2006 amended by Law 16/2012) are never deductible.

4. Practical requirements to claim a prize > 10,000 €

When the prize exceeds 10,000 euros, in practice a series of requirements are demanded:

• Identification of the winner: the paying entity must identify the recipient (DNI/NIE/passport) and, in case of shared prize, all co-owners, because the exempt threshold and the taxable base are prorated per person.
• Payment method: the usual method is bank account credit, due to legal restrictions on cash payments and anti-money laundering obligations.
• Ownership verification: it may be required to justify who the real owners of the ticket, receipt, or bet are (especially in shared prizes).
• Withholding at source:
  • If it is a lottery/bet with special tax, the entity automatically deducts the withholding on the non-exempt part and pays it to the Treasury (models 230 and 270, according to Order HAP/70/2013 and Order HAP/2368/2013).
  • In other games, the entity may withhold as appropriate and, in any case, the taxpayer must include the gain in their IRPF.
• Taxpayer obligations:
  • Keep receipts, proof of payment, and withholding certificates.
  • Review the tax return draft: prizes subject to the special tax are usually not declared again; other prizes must be included as capital gains.

In summary, for a prize over 10,000 euros, the key is to distinguish whether it comes from lotteries/bets with special tax (where only the part exceeding the exempt threshold is taxed and by withholding with liberating effect) or from other games, in which case the gain must be fully declared in the IRPF, considering that losses only offset up to the amount of gambling winnings in the same fiscal year.