Gambling activities regulated under Law 13/2011 of 27 May on gambling regulation

Under Law 13/2011 of 27 May on Gambling Regulation (hereinafter, LRJ), gambling activity means any activity in which sums of money or items of economic value in whatever form are staked on future and uncertain results, depending on chance to some extent, and which allow these sums to be transferred between the participants, regardless of whether the skill level of the gamblers is decisive in the results or whether they wholly or fundamentally on luck, stakes or chance.

Therefore, for an activity to fall under the scope of the LRJ, the following three criteria must be met at the same time:

1. PAYMENT to participate. Some payment must be made to participate.

For this reason, the concept of gambling activity excludes all those activities which, although they include the other two elements of the gambling activity, are carried out free of charge.

2. CHANCE in determining the result.

The outcome on which the amounts of money or economically evaluable objects are put at risk must be in the future and uncertain and depend on chance to some extent. The rules of each game or activity of chance will specify at which moment the result is subject to chance.

Those activities in which chance is not understandable as determining the result to some extent will not be considered gambling activities (for example: the awarding of a prize after assessment by a jury appointed ad hoc and prior to the activity).

3. PRIZE given to the winning participant.

The consequence of being the winner in a gambling activity is the transfer of the money or economically assessable object or its addition to the winning participant’s wealth.  The prizes may be in cash or kind depending on the form of gambling. If there is no prize, there is no chance gambling activity.