The Legislative Assembly of El Salvador has approved an Economic Agreement to launch a national electronic lottery in the Latin American country, which will be operated jointly with Canada.
The Plenary Session Nº66, which took place on July 26th, ended with 64 votes in favour of the new lottery, 4 votes against it and 11 abstentions.
A national electronic lottery to benefit El Salvador
This new offer will be added to the existing one from the Lotería Nacional de Beneficencia (LNB) of El Salvador, allowing the Government to “raise additional funds to support municipalities and invest in the execution of health and education programs.”
In addition to the benefits that the resources will bring, the Lotería Electrónica Nacional will not represent any costs to El Salvador, since the Canadian Commercial Corporation will be in charge of both the implementation and the operation of the new service.
Deputy Ana Figueroa, who is also President of the Foreign Relations Committee, said that this agreement allows El Salvador to reaffirm its “diplomatic ties” and to expand “in the technology world.”
“This agreement aims to improve the areas of health and education in both countries,” she said.
Profits to benefit public health
Additionally, the Assembly shared some details of the agreement and explained that of the national electronic lottery’s total revenue, 10% will be directed to the municipalities to carry out activations in favour of their residents. Another 10% will go to lottery vendors and to be distributed to strengthen operations from public institutions, while the rest will be used for public health, education and social assistance projects.
Although the Canadian entity will be in charge of implementing and operating the electronic lottery, no details have been shared in regards to how much of the profits it would take.
The Canadian Commercial Corporation, created in 1946, is government-owned and accountable to the Parliament of Canada through the Minister of International Trade, Export Promotion, Small Business and Economic Development.
Currently, it is the only agency from Canada that mediates between Canadian business and governments in international contracts. According to the corporation, one of its goals is for “Canadians to compete successfully in complex and highly competitive government procurement markets.”
El Salvador Deputy Raúl Chamagua assured that the Foreign Relations Commission is especially interested in these types of agreements, since they socially benefit the population.
“This seeks to continue on the path of modernization of the State and strengthen diplomatic relations,” he added.
Back in April, the President of the LNB Javier Milián Velásquez explained that the proposal for a national electronic lottery was part of a “modernization process that the institution had been promoting since the arrival of President Nayib Bukele to the office.”
“With this agreement, we will implement new games and expand the range of products without putting the State’s capital at risk. This modernization process doesn’t put state finances at risk.”
