First there were several changes to the way lottery tickets are sold in Spain when they were offered via the internet for the first time, removing some management and financial responsibility from the web of ticket counters. And now the privatizing of the industry could force further changes. The government?s recent decision is affecting the street side lottery ticket counters, who have been raising their voices to protest a public stock offer that could eliminate 9,000 jobs at the counters.
Even though Loterías y Apuestas del Estado (LAE), the full name of the Spanish lottery system, insists that more than 70% of the industry supports these measures, the actual lottery ticket counters reject them. Historically they oppose any kind of change. According to the LAE, going to buy a lottery ticket at a street side counter is enough to indicate that the negative effects of online sales are prolific. The lottery managers are asking for a halt in the reform in question and for a new law on public gambling, which is an economic and cultural heritage and an asset for Spain.
Troubled Ticket Counters
The lottery ticket counters provides direct and stable employment for more than 12,000 people, plus another 25,000 in an indirect way, according to Manuel Izquierdo. He manages a ticket counter in a central Madrid neighborhood.
In his opinion, the situation has been stable until now, but providing access to tickets on the internet and in bars means that nearly 3,000 ticket counters could close within the next few years. If that were to happen, only 1,000 counters would remain.
