The Argentinian Federation of Lotteries, Quinielas and Related (FACALQA) has alerted the government that failure to be considered an essential activity during the pandemic could bring damage to the lottery sector.
The President of FACALQA, Patricio Gándola, explained that more than 42,000 people who depend on Argentinian lotteries are at risk due to services shutting down. He assured that the State suffers as well, as the Federation provides one of the most significant contributions in taxes.
“We don’t want to be given anything for free, we just want to be able to work, or have access to credits to be able to navigate the quarantine,” he said.
The president claims that the problems for casinos and bingo halls began when the previous government of Mauricio Macri specified that they can’t be considered small and medium-sized companies (SMEs), which led to lottery and betting agencies to be subject to the same regulations.
“A lottery agency is not similar to casinos or bingos. We don’t have the resources, agencies are generally family businesses with one or two employees at the most,” he added.
The sector is asking the government to allow them to restart their operations, and they argue that as they’re close to essential businesses, like local markets or grocery stores, their shops are not a threat to the health crisis.
Gándola also warned that in the absence of official activity, illegal gambling could prosper in Argentina. “With no legal activity throughout the country, illegality operates, and we know that the money turns to drug trafficking and crime in general,” he explained.
“We’re in favour of defending people’s health, we’re not challenging the quarantine. We only need help from the government, and we promise to pay them back as soon as we can open our agencies.”
