More than 150 representatives from lottery outlets across Spain have protested outside the headquarters of SELAE in Madrid.
The demonstration was organised by the main sector associations, including Defensa Digital (DEDIT), Loteros en Lucha (LELL) and the National Association of Provincial Lottery Administrators (ANAPAL).
The vendors are demanding an update to their commissions, which have remained unchanged for 21 years. They are also calling for an increase in ticket prices while opposing the potential monopolisation of online sales by SELAE.
Regarding the commission system, ANAPAL President Borja Muñiz highlighted the Christmas Lottery Draw as an example, where the commission is set at 4.5% compared with 6% for other draws. According to ANAPAL, this generates a gross profit of just €0.90 per lottery ticket. The association has proposed bringing this commission in line with that of other draws.
Ahead of the latest Christmas Lottery Draw, ANAPAL also proposed increasing the price of a lottery ticket from €20 ($22.8m) to €25. To compensate consumers, it suggested increasing the value of all prizes, with the top prize, El Gordo, rising from €400,000 to €500,000.
Lottery vendors are facing growing financial pressure as rising costs and unchanged commissions continue to reduce profitability. According to an economic analysis carried out by ANAPAL, more than 44% of vendors are already at risk of financial difficulties.
Meanwhile, the lottery vendor network accounts for 77% of total lottery sales, with SELAE itself highlighting the network as one of its key strengths in its annual report.
With lottery prices having remained frozen since 2002, operating costs have increased by 60%, resulting in a 60% decline in profitability for points of sale.
Criticism is also continuing over SELAE’s plans to develop a centralised online sales platform. Vendors fear this could exclude them from online sales, a channel that has become an increasingly important source of revenue.
Lottery vendor representatives are urging the regulator DGOJ to oversee the online sales channel to prevent conflicts of interest and the possibility of a SELAE monopoly. Vendors highlight that their outlets account for 80% of online sales, representing up to one third of their revenue.
SELAE closed 2025 with net profits of €2.17bn, 10.7% lower than in 2014, while revenues reached €10.39bn, an increase of 1.8%
