Spanish National Police and Civil Guard investigators have uncovered growing use of lottery tickets in money-laundering schemes in Spain’s Almería province. Criminal organisations are using the tickets to disguise illicit funds as legitimate lottery winnings, local media Ideal reports.
But how does the scheme work? According to sources cited by Ideal, the scheme can begin when a genuine lottery winner attempts to deposit their winnings at a financial institution. A bank employee allegedly alerts the criminal network, which then approaches the winner and offers an additional sum on top of the prize. Ideal reports that this premium is typically around 20% of the winnings.
Another method sees money launderers approaching winners at lottery outlets after a draw. As winners celebrate their prizes, these criminals may offer to buy the winning tickets at a price higher than the official payout.
The criminals can then use the winning ticket to make their illicit money appear legitimate, effectively passing it off as genuine lottery winnings. Spain’s Christmas Lottery is particularly attractive to criminals because of the huge volume of prize money distributed each year.
The practice has become increasingly common in recent months, according to evidence gathered by both the Civil Guard and National Police. During various operations in 2025, authorities seized up to 500 lottery tickets, highlighting the scale of the method and its use in laundering proceeds from criminal activity.
The practice is not limited to Almería and has previously featured in major Spanish corruption cases including Malaya and Las Teresitas.
The Spanish regulator DGOJ recently launched a tender for creative, design, production and implementation services for a new safer gambling campaign
