Caixa Econômica Federal has announced that Loteria Federal draws will resume on July 4, nearly four months after the activity stopped due to the health emergency in Brazil.
Although Caixa’s plans initially aimed at returning this month, the sanitary conditions have forced the oldest modality in the country to postpone its draws.
According to an official statement, it won’t be necessary to purchase new tickets to participate in July’s draws. The last ones were issued in March, days before Caixa suspended the federal lottery and Loteca draws due to the pandemic. The last draw, No. 5,477, took place on March 18.
In addition, draws will only be held on Saturdays, while those that used to take place on Wednesdays will return on September 23. The new Loteria Federal schedule establishes that four draws will be held in July, on August 5, and on September 3.
In the first quarter of 2020, Caixa collected $577m, representing a 22% drop compared to the same period in 2019, when it registered $742m. Moreover, the figure is also a 37.8% setback from the previous quarter, when Caixa generated $927m.
The proceeds contributed to a number of social programs, including providing financial aid to the Health sector, which was directed to aid in the fight against the coronavirus.
This month, the Brazilian Chamber of Deputies passed bill 3042/20, which is now waiting for the Senate’s review, under the ‘urgent’ category. The proposal would reallocate 5% of lottery proceeds to the National Health Fund (FNS) during the current state of emergency.
The sale of lottery tickets from Mega-Sena, Quina, Lotería Federal and Lotex draws, all operated by Caixa Econômica Federal, willcontribute to the fund.
Alexandre Frota, the bill’s autor, assured that “the reinforcement in the FNS budget is a solution to the state of emergency to support the health system, which is overflowed with patients affected by the virus.” And he added: “The law will also prevent the federal government from having to turn to foreign loans to pay for the measures being taken to fight COVID-19.”