Supreme Court Allows Sale of ONCE Lottery Tickets in Bars. The Supreme Court of Spain has ruled that the sale of ONCE lottery tickets in food and beverage establishments is not subject to regional government control. The decision upholds the rights of bars and cafés, limiting the interference of autonomous communities.
The Supreme Court of Spain has put an end to the dispute over who has the right to control the sale of ONCE lottery tickets in bars, cafes, and other hospitality venues. The judicial panel for administrative matters concluded that autonomous communities cannot inspect or interfere with the operation of terminals through which state ONCE lottery tickets are sold, even if the regions have their own powers regarding gambling.
Essence of the ruling
The case originated in Asturias, where the regional gambling inspection demanded the removal of ONCE terminals from several establishments and threatened consequences if they continued to operate. The Supreme Court overturned both the ruling of the Asturian court and the administrative acts of the local Ministry of Finance, emphasizing that equipment related to state lotteries does not fall under regional oversight, which applies only to other types of gambling.
State competence
The decision notes that the authority to permit such lotteries belongs exclusively to the state, provided the lotteries are assigned by law to certain operators—including ONCE. The court recalled that the same position was already articulated in its ruling on ONCE terminals in Asturias in April 2026.
Arguments of the law
The Supreme Court relies on the provisions of Law 13/2011 on the regulation of gambling. This law grants the state exclusive rights to organize and sell lotteries through designated operators. While Article 9 requires regional authorization for certain types of equipment or establishments, the court clarified: this rule applies only to those games not reserved for the state. For ONCE lotteries, an additional article expressly permits the sale of tickets and coupons through external commercial networks.
Therefore, the court rejected the possibility of regional authorities demanding the removal of ONCE terminals from bars and restaurants based on local gambling laws. In the court's view, such intervention would violate the established procedure for distributing state lotteries.
Significance for establishments
The Supreme Court's decision protects the interests of hospitality venues where ONCE terminals are installed for the sale of state lottery tickets. This does not eliminate other types of administrative oversight if they concern different matters, but it does exclude the possibility of regional inspections intervening specifically regarding gambling regulations.
Thus, the court clearly defined the division of powers between the state and autonomous communities in matters affecting business and daily practices of establishments. The sale of ONCE coupons in bars now falls entirely under state regulation rather than regional control, which is especially important for venue owners and their customers.
Questions of power distribution between the state and regions in Spain are regularly discussed, especially when it comes to areas with economic and social significance. For example, similar disputes arise in other fields as well, as was the case during discussions about changes to the clock-changing procedure, which was covered in the article about the key European Commission report on time in Spain.
