Slot Machines in Catalonia: Gambling and Recreational Machines Contribute €37.54 Million in Taxes

For those living in Barcelona, the winning machine is primarily the one in the local bar, and the Generalitat's data places that category of devices ahead of the rest. Far behind is the online modality: according to the same report, the Catalan tax on online activity amounted to €11.12 million in the quarter, with a 17.7% increase. The screen is advancing strongly. Its base, however, is much smaller.

The Number of Type B Machines Barely Moves

The number of devices hardly varies. The Generalitat's report counts 31,149 type B machines in that quarter, a 0.3% increase, while the so-called B Light machines remained at 166 units after a 35.4% drop. These are counts of machines, not money, and it is important to read them separately from the revenue. The other channel is different, as it does not occupy space at any bar and is measured with state data.

Online Gambling Machines: Each Session Requires Setting Time and Spending Limits

This channel has its own state regulation, Order HAP/1370/2014, dated July 25, which states that players must pay "the price of the game" in exchange for "a time of use" to achieve a winning combination of symbols. From a mobile or computer, players engage in slot machines game by game, and each is paid from the user's account balance. This activity appears in the quarterly report from the DGOJ cited by Focus Gaming News, which indicates that machines recorded a year-on-year growth of 22.4% and increased by 6.98% compared to the previous quarter.

Article 14.1 of that same order adds a preliminary step: before starting each session, the participant "must set the maximum time they are willing to spend and the maximum amount" they accept to reduce their balance. They must do this explicitly each time, with no default values set or inherited from previous sessions, and cannot modify them once the session has started. Once the time or amount is exhausted, disconnection is automatic, although nothing prevents finishing early. According to the preamble of the regulation, this initial configuration is among the measures aimed at "promoting responsible gaming".

Catalan and State Figures Measure Different Things

Neither of the two series allows for a direct comparison. The figures from the Generalitat reflect taxes collected in Catalonia from January to March; those from the DGOJ describe the state online market from April to June 2026, which generated €539.19 million in gross gaming revenue (GGR) in Spain. Therefore, the 22.4% attributed to machines by the DGOJ and the 0.3% increase in type B machines counted by the Generalitat cannot be added together. The 22.4% from the DGOJ corresponds to the year-on-year growth of online machines in Spain, while the 0.3% from the Generalitat reflects the variation of type B machines in Catalonia. The 17.7% increase in the tax on the online modality, according to the Catalan report, also does not serve as a contrast: it is revenue from one quarter, not state activity from the following.

Type B Permits Are Requested Locally

Type B machines require regional authorization to be installed in hospitality, restaurant, or similar establishments, as detailed in the official Generalitat file. Thus, the bar's machine is accountable to the Catalan administration, while the state order preserves "the powers that correspond to the Autonomous Communities".

The bar requesting the authorization is also a local business, the same proximity fabric that the Barcelona City Council wants to protect with its plan to purchase central premises with the tourist tax. Therefore, the upcoming figures should be read in three separate planes. The park of type B machines will show how their presence in establishments evolves, the Catalan revenue will measure the sector's fiscal contribution, and the DGOJ report will reflect the progress of the state channel.