Lottery administrators in Madrid are planning to strike in November against the local gambling regulator SELAE. They argue that SELAE’s ‘lack of initiative and foresight’ has resulted in a drop in revenue for them and the state.
The administrators told TeleMadrid that they will attend the National Board of Directors meeting, as they believe that they could lose up to €1.2bn in revenue due to the badly run Christmas draw campaign.
José Luis Sánchez, president of the Provincial Association of Lottery Administrators of Madrid, explained that without taking into account the pandemic, SELAE ‘ignores us and the administration’s [biggest assets] are dying.’
However, the gambling regulator has said that they have no information regarding possible strikes in Madrid.
Also, the president talked about the current system they use to pay prizes and criticized the impossibility of paying prizes greater than €2001 in local agencies.
Sánchez said: “If a client wins €2001 or more, they will have to request an appointment to be able to collect that prize at a local bank.”
He also highlighted the differences with SELAE in terms of sales channels, as well as that the regulator banned online sales before the pandemic but is now urging them to find new channels.
He stated: “SELAE punished us for selling online and now, with COVID-19, they’re asking us to do that instead of doing it at our shops.”
Regarding the Christmas draw, which represents between 50% and 70% of SELAE’s total annual sales, the Madrid lotteries estimate that they will sell between 20% and 40% less than in 2019, although there aren’t official numbers to back that information.