Spain: Online sports betting was the fastest-growing gambling sector in 2022

A new analysis of the Spanish online gambler profile, published by the General Secretariat of Consumer Affairs and Gaming under the Ministry of Consumer Affairs, revealed that in 2022 about 1,595,093 people were active gamblers in Spain (3.2% of the 48,345,223 that make up the population of this country). This represents an annual growth of 8.44%, with a total of 386,411 new players.

Of the total number of online players, 83.25% are men and 16.75% are women.

The report also shows that, of all these active players, 80% (1,276,837) gambled through betting, mainly on sports. The remaining 20% included other online games such as casino, poker, or bingo.

Sports betting is the sector that grew the most in 2022, compared to the previous year, with an increase of 12.33%, mainly among the youngest segments. Last year ended with 62,331 more players between 18 and 25 years old, being the age range with the highest growth compared to 2021.

The profile of the average online gambler, according to the Ministry of Consumer Affairs report, is a man between 18 and 35 years of age.

In terms of average spending, men spent EUR 626 per year and women EUR 320 per year. By age group, the highest average net spending is EUR 845 per year and corresponds to players between 36 and 45 years of age. Of the total number of players, 20% of them win net prizes. Even for 5% of the participants, the net winnings in the year exceed EUR 603.

Income tax return

According to the Ministry of Consumer Affairs' own data, almost 300,000 taxpayers would have to declare winnings from their online gambling. In addition to including them in their income tax return data related to salary, interest on bank accounts, or donations made to associations and charities, it is also necessary to add the winnings obtained through sports betting. In fact, the Tax Agency usually reviews this type of data to detect or avoid possible fraud by taxpayers.

In this sense, even if you have only won EUR 1 in bets, it is necessary to declare that amount since it is part of the income during the tax year, as long as you are obliged to file the tax return.

As established in the Personal Income Tax Law 35/2006, a tax return must be filed if you have obtained an annual income of more than EUR 22,000 with a single payer or more than EUR 14,000 in the case of two payers.

However, if the income from sports betting or any other source exceeds EUR 1,000, it is also necessary to file a tax return even if the rule for income from employment is not met.