Malaga lottery retailers protest over commissions frozen for more than 20 years

Lottery retailers across Malaga have joined a nationwide protest, with shop owners taking to the streets in Madrid to demand higher commissions on lottery ticket sales.

They say the payments they receive have remained unchanged for more than two decades, despite soaring operating costs.

The protest coincides with the launch of sales for this year's Spanish Christmas lottery and targets Loterías y Apuestas del Estado (SELAE), the state-owned lottery operator. Retailers want SELAE to overhaul the financial model governing Spain's lottery outlets.

The sector warns that commission rates, unchanged since 2000, are pushing many family-run businesses towards financial hardship because they earn such slim margins on lottery tickets. According to the national association of lottery retailers (Anapal), profitability has fallen by around 60%.

Aurora Castro, who runs a lottery outlet at the Plaza Mayor shopping centre in Malaga, says operating costs have risen across the board.

"Electricity bills, rents and staff costs keep going up, but the income we receive from SELAE has stayed exactly the same. People think we're asking for ticket prices to increase, but that's not the case. Prices don't need to go up. A fairer share of the revenue would be enough," she states.

While retailers' commissions have remained unchanged, rents, utility bills, wages and taxes have all increased. Anapal also accuses SELAE of pursuing measures that could reduce the income of physical lottery outlets by as much as 30%.

"Without lottery retailers, there is no lottery," the association says.

Anapal has ended what it describes as a period of trust and dialogue with SELAE after receiving no meaningful response from the state operator. The association has now launched a political, institutional and business lobbying campaign to highlight what it calls the sector's worsening financial crisis.

Under the slogan "Without Lottery Retailers, There Is No Lottery", Anapal has stepped up meetings with political parties, public bodies and business organisations, including Spain's employers' federation (CEOE) and the self-employed associations ATA and UPTA.

The association argues that most lottery outlets are run by self-employed people, small businesses and families that face rising costs, increasing administrative requirements and growing competition from online sales, all while operating under a commission structure that "has been frozen for 20 years".

Anapal says lottery retailers generate around 80% of SELAE's total sales and remain the backbone of Spain's public lottery network. However, it states that an outdated financial model is putting increasing pressure on businesses already struggling with higher rents, utility costs, wages and administrative burdens.

The association says it will not "stand by and do nothing" while the viability of its members' businesses and the future of Spain's public lottery network come under threat. It accuses SELAE of refusing to listen to the retailers who sustain its main sales network.

According to Anapal's figures, 52.7% of lottery outlets have seen profits fall, almost 44% are now in financial difficulty and 15% face a direct risk of closure. The association says these figures point not to an isolated dispute but to a structural crisis threatening a key part of Spain's public lottery system.

Anapal says its campaign aims to raise awareness of what it describes as an existential threat to the sector. It criticises SELAE for continuing to report substantial profits while, in its view, ignoring the financial reality facing the retailers who sell its products across the country.

The association warns that the dispute extends beyond lottery retailers themselves. More than 11,000 lottery outlets, thousands of jobs, services in smaller towns and a long-established public lottery network based on trust and local presence are all at stake, it says.

Anapal also warns that its current lobbying campaign marks only the beginning of a broader strategy. With the Christmas lottery draw approaching, it has not ruled out further demonstrations and other forms of public protest if SELAE fails to respond.

"We'll go as far as necessary," the association says.

Lottery retailers are calling for an urgent increase in commissions linked to the cost of living, guarantees that protect their independence in online sales, and the immediate opening of talks with Spain's finance ministry to safeguard jobs in the sector.

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