Review necessary prior to Panama’s electronic lotto implementation

Fernando González, a member of the National Association of Wallets of Panama, has commented on the need to review the existing processes of the National Lottery of Charity (LNB) prior to the implementation of an electronic lottery in the country. 

The revelation follows a period of uncertainty for lotteries within Panama following a lack of operations due to COVID-19 which, in turn, revealed the need to update certain operational aspects of different sectors of the industry. 

As reported by local media outlet Crítica, González said: “It is an issue that deserves a wide debate, because this could give rise to unscrupulous people who have always wanted to reach out to the National Lottery for benefits, but in the end, how would those benefit reach the wallets?” 

Although an electronic lottery would represent a significant step for the industry in Panama, Gonzalez emphasised that it is important to modernise what already exists because there are obsolete processes in terms of administrative matters. 

He also warned that it is necessary to change aspects across all the operations carried out by the Lottery, especially in its computer system.

While acknowledging that the industry and LNB executives have become closer in recent months, González believes there remain issues to be resolved. These include the economic status of lottery sellers who received digital bonuses during the pandemic.