Spain Issues “Reminder” to Crypto Gamblers About Tax Payments

This month, Spain’s tax authorities have sent out over 328,000 notices, which effectively remind Spaniards that they are legally required to pay tax on cryptocurrency transactions from the previous financial year. AEAT (the Spanish tax authority) has increased the number of notices being delivered by over 40%, which they claim is because of an influx of crypto use in the EU country. How does this issue affect crypto gamblers, though?

This Issue Isn’t Solely Linked to Gambling

Spain isn’t pulling any punches when it comes to cryptocurrency taxes. Admittedly, many of these notices have found their way to homeowners leasing properties to tourists and investors and aren’t necessarily aimed solely at crypto gamblers. However, with roughly 6.8% of Spaniards now owning cryptocurrency and over 48% of young Spaniards admitting to gambling online, this puts crypto gambling purely within the AEAT’s scope. Throw in the fact that gambling is closely regulated in the Iberian country, so much so that many Spaniards choose to go down the anonymous route at offshore casinos (many of which are crypto sites that offer anonymity) and that most crypto users are aged 35-44, and it isn’t a surprise to see crypto gamblers targeted amongst the others.

While we’re only looking at notifications and reminders now, the Spanish tax authority is known for moving rapidly to the next step (enforcement) and heavily punishes tax dodgers.

Spanish Bettors Hold Onto Their Winnings

Surely Spanish bettors are legally required to pay income on any profits they make from cryptocurrency transactions anyway? Well, there are loopholes that make things considerably easier for them to, well…not.

There is a growing trend in the crypto gambling industry to keep cryptocurrencies in your wallet following a win and withdrawal. The main reason for this is that as soon as cryptocurrency is exchanged or traded for euros, then any profit becomes taxable (as income tax). To get around this, many crypto users tend to keep their crypto and assets in their wallets, thus ensuring that they aren’t legally required to pay tax on any “profit”, as none has been effectively generated – yet.

The AEAT, it seems, is wise to this and seems to at least be probing the possibility and prospect of “reminding” Spaniards that tax time is coming. Whether this gently nudges a few of them into exchanging cryptos and declaring profit on cryptos remains to be seen.

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