Lo mismo la táctica evita la penalización.

Here lo mismo means maybe / perhaps, not the same. In Spanish from Spain, it can work as a colloquial marker of possibility at the start of a sentence.

A very similar example is Lo mismo viene mañana, meaning Maybe he/she comes tomorrow or Maybe he/she’s coming tomorrow.

Because the structure is different.

When lo mismo appears before a whole clause, especially in Spain, it can mean maybe.
When it means the same thing or the same, it usually appears in patterns like:

• hacer lo mismo
• decir lo mismo
• lo mismo de siempre

So in Lo mismo la táctica evita la penalización, it is not a noun phrase meaning the same thing. It is an adverbial expression affecting the whole sentence.

Yes. This use is particularly associated with Spain, especially informal spoken Spanish.

A learner in Spain will often hear expressions like:

• Lo mismo no viene
• Lo mismo sí
• Lo mismo se enfada

In much of Latin America, people are more likely to use other expressions such as quizá(s), tal vez, or a lo mejor. People may still understand lo mismo, but it is much less characteristically theirs.

Because lo mismo normally goes with the indicative in this colloquial use.

Spanish does not always use the subjunctive after expressions of possibility. With everyday expressions such as a lo mejor, igual, and lo mismo, the indicative is very common:

• A lo mejor llega tarde
• Igual no sabe
• Lo mismo cambia de idea

So evita is exactly what you would expect here.

Because Spanish often uses the present indicative for possibilities that are current, future, or hypothetical in context.

So Lo mismo la táctica evita la penalización can sound like:

• maybe the tactic avoids the penalty
• maybe the tactic will avoid the penalty
• maybe the tactic ends up avoiding the penalty

The exact time reference depends on context, not just on the verb form.

It could omit the subject in theory, but here that would probably sound unclear.

Spanish often drops subjects, but evita could mean:

• he/she avoids
• it avoids
• you avoid (formal)

By keeping la táctica, the sentence makes the subject clear. In this case, that is the more natural choice.

Because Spanish uses the definite article more often than English does.

La táctica can refer to:

• a specific tactic already known from context, or
• the tactic being discussed in the situation

English often says tactic or the tactic depending on style, but Spanish is more comfortable keeping the article here.

For the same reason: it is treated as a specific penalty or sanction in context.

Spanish often uses the definite article with nouns that are identifiable in the situation. So la penalización means the penalty being referred to, not just any penalty in general.

No. Evitar normally takes a direct object.

So you say:

• evitar la penalización
• evitar un problema
• evitar errores

Not evitar a la penalización.

The only time you may see a is with a personal direct object, for example evitar a alguien.

Yes. Lo mismo sounds very natural at the beginning when it comments on the whole sentence.

This pattern is common:

• Lo mismo + clause

For example:

• Lo mismo no funciona
• Lo mismo tienen razón
• Lo mismo la táctica evita la penalización

Putting lo mismo first makes the uncertainty clear right away.

They all express possibility, but they differ in tone and usage.

• lo mismo: colloquial, especially Spain
• igual: also very common and colloquial in Spain
• a lo mejor: very common, everyday, fairly neutral
• quizá(s) / tal vez: more neutral and often a bit less colloquial

A grammar difference is that quizá(s) and tal vez can appear with either indicative or subjunctive depending on nuance, while lo mismo is usually followed by the indicative.

Because their stress does not follow the default stress pattern.

• táctica is stressed on the third-to-last syllable: TÁC-ti-ca. Words stressed there always need a written accent.
• penalización is stressed on the last syllable: pe-na-li-za-CIÓN. Since words ending in -n normally stress the second-to-last syllable, the accent mark shows that this one is stressed on the last syllable.

Grammatically, yes.

The main thing to notice is register:

• lo mismo is colloquial and very Spain-like
• penalización sounds more technical or formal, depending on context

So the sentence is possible and correct, but it mixes a casual opener with a somewhat formal noun. That is not wrong at all; it just depends on the setting. In sports, legal, gaming, or administrative contexts, penalización is perfectly natural.