CJEU Commission v Spain (lottery winnings tax exemption): Allegations, Court Orders and Status

What this case is about

C-153/08 Commission of the European Communities v Kingdom of Spain was decided by the Court of Justice of the European Communities (First Chamber). The Commission brought the action on 15 April 2008, and the Court gave judgment on 6 October 2009. The case is part of Gambling Tax Litigation.

Spain exempted from income tax the winnings of lotteries and games run by Spanish public bodies. These were Loterías y Apuestas del Estado, the Autonomous Communities, ONCE and Cruz Roja.

Winnings from equivalent bodies established in other Member States were taxed. The Commission argued that this breached Article 49 EC (now Article 56 TFEU) on the freedom to provide services and Article 36 of the EEA Agreement.

Who is covered

The ruling concerns lottery operators from other Member States that offer games in Spain, and winners of their games. The defendant is the Kingdom of Spain.

It is an infringement action by the Commission, so there are no private plaintiffs and no class of players. Similar rulings are collected on the Gambling Lawsuits in European Union page.

Is there a payout?

No payout exists in this case. It is an action by the Commission against a Member State, and the record shows no fund, no settlement and no claim process.

The judgment concerns the tax rule itself, not compensation to individual winners. GamblingLawsuits.org is not a law firm and not a claims administrator.

What the court decided

On 6 October 2009 the First Chamber held that Spain's tax exemption, limited to winnings from lotteries of Spanish public bodies, was contrary to Article 49 EC and Article 36 of the EEA Agreement. The Court found it a discriminatory restriction on the freedom to provide services.

Spain later replaced the exemption with a 20% special levy on large prizes. The levy applies to prizes from both domestic and comparable EU operators.

As of 14 November 2026 the status is judgment, and the record lists no further step.

Why it matters

The judgment is a precedent: a Member State cannot tax winnings from foreign lotteries while exempting the same winnings from its own public lotteries. The fix chosen by Spain was a single levy for both groups.

For how tax treatment works on the player side, see Are Gambling Settlement Payments Taxable.

Questions people ask

What did the EU Court rule about Spanish lottery winnings?

On 6 October 2009 the Court held that exempting only winnings from Spanish public bodies, while taxing winnings from equivalent bodies in other Member States, breached Article 49 EC and Article 36 of the EEA Agreement.

Which Spanish lotteries were exempt?

The exemption covered Loterías y Apuestas del Estado, the Autonomous Communities, ONCE and Cruz Roja.

How did Spain change its law afterwards?

Spain replaced the exemption with a 20% special levy on large prizes. It applies to prizes from both domestic operators and comparable operators in other EU Member States.

Related cases

• GL-ES-0004: STC 32/2012, conflicts of competence between Andalusia, Catalonia and the State over the national instant lottery, status judgment.