Lottery agencies in BA ask for government benefits

The Chamber of Official Lottery Agents of Buenos Aires (CAOLAB) and the Chamber of Official Lottery Agencies of the City of Buenos Aires (CAOLBA) have asked the government to label lottery agencies as SMEs (Small and medium-sized enterprises) in order to receive social benefits to face the COVID-19 crisis.

The presidents of both chambers said in a joint statement that the business work so the state can generate revenue through gambling, highlighting the argument that lottery agencies should be included in the list of entities that will receive benefits.

The chambers stated that as it is not considered SMEs, the sector has been excluded from receiving the benefits and fear that it is being left behind.

“The 5,653 lottery agencies in Buenos Aires are not large companies, they’re small businesses taxed as self-employed and generate jobs for over 20k families, directly and indirectly. They’re currently not generating any type of money,” emphasised CAOLAB and CAOLBA.

The health crisis has caused serious difficulties to salary, rent, services and tax payments due to the world having to deal with the outbreak resulting in fianica losses for a lot of industries.

The joint statement concluded: “We know that the priority is to safeguard the health of the entire country, but we shouldn’t lose sight of the irreparable damage that is being done to this activity, which generates resources not only for the lottery agent, but also for the province and the city.

“We need urgent measures to meet our  obligations. We urge the Chief of Staff Santiago Cafiero and the Minister of Production Matias Kulfas to come up with a resolution so lottery agencies can be categorized as SMEs. We also urge the presidents of both lottery regulators to consider some of the measures that we suggested.”