Spanish State Lotteries and Bettings closer to privatization

Under these provisions, the commercialisation of lotteries in Spain would be ruled by private law. It also involves a legal change in the situation of more than 4,000 lottery administrations, small SMEs that have to change their legal status.

One of such change is that lottery administrations could not pass from father to son as before. Also implies, inter alia, that the state ceases control of 2% of the 2,300 billion euros net that the Treasury entering from state games.

Unions denounced Manager of LAE Gonzalo Fernández to the Anticorruption Prosecutors and the Ministry of Finance. He is accused among other things, of doubling costs for hiring advisors, one of them exclusively for the creation of the LOE Foundation that three years later still doesn't exist.

According to Unions, the way to privatization was preceded in recent weeks by cessations of different area managers that are supplied by advisers with a double salary. State Lotteries sources have assured that all mentioned changes are part of a process of restructuring to modernize the institution as is happening in Europe.

LAE ensures that this restructuring is needed to adapting to the European model, while lottery administrators think they lose market exclusivity. Associations of Lottery Administrations say the Spanish model is the most commercially effective throughout the European Union.

They believe that without exclusivity, the National Lottery for example, could sell by anyone designed by LAE. The installation of outlets in petrol stations, tobacconists, supermarkets and banks supose, according to associations of lottery, a serious social harm by encouraging of out of control game with risk of pathological gambling.

Some private financial entities would be interested in becoming gaming operators in our country.