Every Christmas has its protagonists. Some are expected and often repeated, such as the children of San Idelfonso the morning of December 22. And others that are unexpected and that sneak into the spotlight despite themselves. Tronko Bar in Pontevedra has been one of the latter. Throughout the last few days has monopolized headlines for something that has little to do with their drinks menu, pinchos or concerts. What has given it such surprising and unwanted notoriety is the raffle of some baskets.

Better said, the file that has been opened for raffled off Christmas baskets without complying with the requirements required by law.

Surprise in Pontevedra. The news I published it yesterday The Voice of Galicia. Recently the owners of a business in Pontevedra, the Tronko Bar, found that the Xunta technicians had opened a file against them for a reason that left them upset, one that has little to do with their drinks or food menu. . The reason has been another, very different one: the Christmas baskets that they raffle among their clients. And not because the packages in question are anything special. No. The key is the draw itself.

“You had to pay some fees”. The owner of the bar, Miguel Graña, explained yesterday in detail what happened. His story began with an apparently routine visit by inspectors from the Xunta de Galicia to, as they explained, check the premises’ slot machines. However, it was not the recreational ones that caught the attention of the officials, but rather the baskets with bottles and Christmas sweets that the business raffles off among its customers.

“We had three baskets and they opened a file for them,” remember Grañawho now suspects that the real objective of the inspectors was the raffles from the beginning. “They told us that it is a raffle and that we had to pay some fees. Apart from having paid for the product, they charge you 130 euros for each basket plus 19% of each number you sell. They will end everything,” he lamented yesterday.

“It’s not worth it”. It didn’t take long for the business owners to transfer your discomfort to the networks and share it with local media. Isabel Rúa, the manager, recalled in an interview with Radio Galega that the inspectors informed them that the draw involved an “illegal game.” If they wanted to continue with the raffles without risking a fine, they had no choice but to complete certain procedures. “It doesn’t compensate you at all because you no longer get anything out of the baskets.”

The key to everything, as the manager they work with told the hoteliers, is regional legislation. To be more precise, article 26 of the Lei do Xogo, a regulation approved in 2023 and which, among other issues, poses strict limits on the opening of betting shops in the surroundings of schools and limits the number of slot machines that can be available per bar.

And what does that law say? In your article 26 The regional law regulates a common practice in Galicia, but also in the rest of Spain, especially at Christmas: games with raffles. And she is very clear about it. To organize one, you need an administrative authorization that must be requested from the “autonomous governing body competent in gambling matters” at least 30 days before the tickets begin to be sold or distributed.

The request must detail issues such as who organizes the drawing, when and where it will be held, how many ballots will be distributed and for what amount. Galician law demands Also include a “detailed list of the prizes”, specifying their value and how they will be awarded. The application must also be accompanied by the rules of the draw. It may seem excessive, but raffles sometimes offer Anything else what baskets. The rule clarifies what to do if the prize is a house, a trip or a car.

And in other areas of Spain? The case of the Pontevedra bar has aroused interest because, as a tax advisor admitted these days during an interview At COPE, in many cases the requirements to organize a raffle are ignored and it is very difficult to control the thousands of basket raffles that are organized every Christmas in Galicia alone.

And although the region has just introduced a new sectoral law, the truth is that basket raffles are not a practice, much less exclusive to its bars and businesses. It is rare to find a town in Spain where there is not at least one business that raffles off a basket among its customers every December 22.

What does the administration say about the raffles? The General Directorate of Gambling Regulation, a body linked to the Ministry of Consumer Affairs, is however just as clear as the Lei do Xogo when it speaks of “occasional raffles”, which are those that are held at most once a year, are based in a raffle and are not part of the “ordinary” business of those who set them up.

The organism clarifies certain keys about those types of raffles. For example, the winner can take real estate, objects or certain rights, but never “monetary prizes.” The General Directorate of Gaming Regulation also talks about “requests for authorization” to hold the draws and details the documentation that must be delivered, including the bases. In your website It also includes links to various forms for the process.

Going through checkout. The General Directorate goes further and touches on another key issue: the tax regime. Or in other words, what the draws imply in terms of taxes. “Persons, natural or legal, who carry out raffles will be subject to the payment of the Tax on gaming activities, under the conditions and with the type of tax established in article 48 of the Law 13/2011“, details the organization before specifying that the management and collection corresponds to the Tax Agency (AEAT).

“This rate is 20% of the gross income obtained from participation in the game, as well as any other income that may be obtained, directly derived from the organization or holding of the raffle. In the case of raffles that are declared charitable or public utility, the rate will be 7%”, ditch.

The organization clarifies, however, that for it to be considered a raffle as such, participants must make a “financial contribution” to participate. In fact, Miguel Graña himself assures to The Voice of Galicia that if instead of selling his tickets he had given them to his clients after reaching a certain number of drinks, he would not have faced a lawsuit.

Images | Carlos Macías (Flickr) and State Lotteries and Betting

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