What happened
From December 24, 2024 to January 6, 2025, EBR Management ran a raffle for a Tesla Model S Plaid owned by Spanish YouTuber TheGrefg (David Cánovas) — a car custom-themed as Pixar's Lightning McQueen. Entry cost €1: each purchase of a digital wallpaper from EBR Management bought one entry, and 376,850 entries were recorded while the draw ran on TheGrefg's social channels, accessible to participants using Spanish IP addresses. The car was valued at more than €75,000, though TheGrefg said it had cost him around €120,000.
EBR Management had never obtained the authorisation required under Spain's Gambling Regulation Act to organise the raffle. The Directorate General for Gambling Regulation opened disciplinary proceedings, treated the activity as a very serious infringement — a category carrying fines of up to €1 million — and imposed €750,000, twice the amount raised through entries. The Ministry of Social Rights, Consumer Affairs and Agenda 2030 announced the penalty on October 9, 2026.
EBR Management challenged the decision, arguing the competition was a random draw for advertising or promotional purposes rather than a regulated raffle. The ministry rejected the appeal, maintained that specific authorisation had never been obtained, and refused any further reduction, explaining that a reduction had already been applied when calculating the original amount. TheGrefg publicly insisted the fined company was not his and did not represent him: “To carry out this raffle, a company hired me, and it is the company… being fined,” adding that “all the headlines point directly at me.”
What it cost
€750,000 fine — twice the roughly €377,000 raised from 376,850 €1 entries; appeal rejected and no further reduction
Why it happened
Entry required paying EBR Management €1 for a wallpaper — payment for a chance to win is a regulated raffle under the Act.
The company launched a draw on a top influencer's channels with no authorisation from the gambling regulator.
It classified the draw as advertising or promotion, an argument the ministry rejected on appeal.
The €1 micro-purchase structure pulled in 376,850 entries, and the fine was calibrated at twice the proceeds.
The lesson
If entry means paying for a chance to win, regulators read it as a raffle, whatever the product is called. Get the gambling authorisation before launch; “just a wallpaper” did not survive appeal.
Aftermath
The €750,000 fine stands after the appeal was rejected. Very serious infringements under Spain's gambling rules can reach €1 million, so the reduction already baked into the calculation was the last one available. TheGrefg continues to distance himself from EBR Management, saying he would have no problem acknowledging and paying “if I am fined,” but that in this case the fined party is the company that hired him.
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