Legislation
Brazil – Instants could get go ahead again under new government plans
By James - 3 April 2023
The government is preparing a decree that would bring back the sale of instant lottery Lotex. The government wants to use the ONCE lottery (the lottery in aid of the blind in Spain) as a model.
The sales network in Brazil, according to the new plans, would be made up by sellers with disabilities and could be used as a way to include people with disabilities in the job market. Lotex would also be available online. According to local press, the government hopes to raise as much as to R$5 billion through the new scheme per year.
The Brazilian Development Bank (BNDES) a federal public company associated with the Ministry of Development, Industry, and Trade and the main financing agent for development in Brazil first oversaw the privatisation of CAIXA’s instant lottery arm. Public tenders for selecting the operator lasted years and were abandoned several times due to a lack of interest. After the successive presentations of Lotex to international investors the government made the first auction attempt in July 2018 but had to postpone it because of low interest.
In 2019 BNDES decided to relax the rules of the licensing process and a consortium Consórcio Estrela Instantânea formed by SGI and IGT won the bid for Lotex. It was expected to be fully operational by the end of 2020 but was delayed because of COVID-19. The consortium ultimately withdrew from its contract in October 2020 announcing that the decision had been taken as a result of a failure to establish a distribution agreement with CAIXA Federal: a deal that both companies believed was integral to the success of the business model. In addition in a joint statement the company cited the Brazilian Supreme Court decision to allow states to offer their own lotteries as one of the reasons behind their move.
The Spanish National Organization of the Blind commonly known as the ONCE was founded in 1938, to raise funds to provide services for the blind and people with serious visual impairment.
