Lottery Sellers

[gary]

Whenever I go to spain there are lottery tickets on sale on the street corners and the sellers always seem to be suffering from a physical disability of some sort.... is this co-incidence or is there an explanation for this in some kind of policy ot do with the augmentation of benefits?

[Edith]

Whenever I go to spain there are lottery tickets on sale on the street corners and the sellers always seem to be suffering from a physical disability of some sort.... is this co-incidence or is there an explanation for this in some kind of policy ot do with the augmentation of benefits?

In Spain, lottery tickets are sold by the blind. These people are all members of ONCE (Organización Nacional de Ciegos Españoles) and here is some more information about this organization:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ONCE

http://www.once.es/home.cfm?id=179&nivel=1&orden=1

[richardksa]

Ben speaks about this in one of the early podcasts. Not sure, but it might be the audio tour round the market; the first one with Marina.

[Ben]

Yes, it was podcast no. 5 (http://www.notesfromspain.com/68/), the first, then reluctant, appearance of Marina! And I won 15 euros (http://www.notesfromspain.com/69/) with the ticket I bought in the podcast! And Edith is spot on, it is all run by ONCE for people with disabilities.

[gary]

Yes, it was podcast no. 5 (http://www.notesfromspain.com/68/), the first, then reluctant, appearance of Marina! And I won 15 euros (http://www.notesfromspain.com/69/) with the ticket I bought in the podcast! And Edith is spot on, it is all run by ONCE for people with disabilities.

That clears that one up - thanks...

[richardksa]

Yes, it was podcast no. 5 (http://www.notesfromspain.com/68/), the first, then reluctant, appearance of Marina! And I won 15 euros (http://www.notesfromspain.com/69/) with the ticket I bought in the podcast!

Now you've made her a star! And she obviously brought you luck.:D

[Marina]

Yes, it was podcast no. 5 (http://www.notesfromspain.com/68/), the first, then reluctant, appearance of Marina!

Now he complains that I speak too much in the podcasts:rolleyes: one can never get things right:D:D

[Mikebriscoe]

But can anyone expain how the ONCE works? How much does a ticket cost? How many numbers do you get? How do you win? How much? How do you claim the money etc.

[Brian]

But can anyone expain how the ONCE works? How much does a ticket cost? How many numbers do you get? How do you win? How much? How do you claim the money etc.

The ONCE website says:

The cupón is the driving force behind the National Organization of the Blind.It is a traditional lottery, the concession for which was granted to the ONCE by the SpanishState so that it could finance its drive to cover the needs of Spain’s blind and visually impaired citizens.

More than 23,000 blind or disabled people sell the lottery cupón, now the largest source of employment for Spain’s blind.

The cupón also finances the ONCE Foundation and its programmes for insertion in the labour market and the elimination of barriers for people with disabilities other than blindness.

Of the revenue obtained from cupón sales, half is set aside for prize money, 25 per cent covers operating costs, 160 million euros are allocated to social services for the blind and, through the ONCE Foundation, some 80 million euros are devoted to solidarity with other groups of disabled. Its low cost, the diversity of its offer and the generous prizes make it an extremely attractive product.

[richardksa]

I have often been tempted to buy a ticket, but how do you find out if you have won?

[gary]

I have often been tempted to buy a ticket, but how do you find out if you have won?

As a foreigner I have always avoided lottery tickets in spain but now I realise that the folk are making a living by selling them. I will make the effort to buy one and chance my arm.

So - is El Gordo run by ONCE? - if Im gonna win Im gonna win big!!

Incidentally - If you are going to buy a UK lottery ticket for the Saturday Draw dont buy it at the beginning of the week - apparently you have more chance of dying than winning the big one!!

[greytop]

As a foreigner I have always avoided lottery tickets in spain but now I realise that the folk are making a living by selling them. I will make the effort to buy one and chance my arm.

So - is El Gordo run by ONCE? - if Im gonna win Im gonna win big!!

There are a lot of sites like
http://www.loterias.com/

Search for "loterias" on Google

You can also buy tickets online but watch out for the ones that want to enter you in multiple draws/lines as part of a syndicate. You can spend a fortune and only get back a small proportion of the winnings (if there are any!)

[neskadebilbao]

There is also a section in the book that Ben recommended The New Spaniards by John Hooper that explains the ONCE lottery and the changes that have occurred through the years. It´s a very interesting book that gives light to many subjects.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0140131914/sr=8-1/qid=1153410072/ref=pd_bbs_1/104-0130666-4081537?ie=UTF8

[Brian]

The common joke among some English-speaking residents of Spain goes something like:

"So, have you ever won the national lottery?"

"Not once."

;)

You're more likely to get struck by lightning than to win the lottery. I'll just invest it in something solid, like betting on racehorces. :p

[kyle]

"So, have you ever won the national lottery?"

"Not once."



Actually the lottery is a state tax for its Mathmatics/Statistics-impaired citizens >:D:angel:

[Brian]

Actually the lottery is a state tax for its Mathmatics/Statistics-impaired citizens

Quite right, and on a similar note, it just hacks me off to see people paying for their groceries with food stamps (government assistance) while buying $20 in lottery tickets at the same time. :mad: I'm not opposed to a little assistance for people who are down on their luck, but if you have $20 to blow on lottery tickets, well, come on, man.

[richardksa]

At the risk of being tiresome; how do I find out if I've won?http://qsmile.com/qsimages/85.gif

[cubix]

If anybody watched the Destinos series, spanish education videos,some of the characters run into a Ciego, selling lottery tickets. There is a handout on ONCE and the lottery in spain.

Don't knock the lottery, in my state, I can attend any state university for free, as long as I graduate with a 3.0 grade point average(I have like a 3.9) Though I don't know anyone who has won, I have read about that like 3/4th of the lottery tickets are purchased by low income minorties or that's the way in the United States

[Edith]

If anybody watched the Destinos series, spanish education videos,some of the characters run into a Ciego, selling lottery tickets. There is a handout on ONCE and the lottery in spain.

Don't knock the lottery, in my state, I can attend any state university for free, as long as I graduate with a 3.0 grade point average(I have like a 3.9) Though I don't know anyone who has won, I have read about that like 3/4th of the lottery tickets are purchased by low income minorties or that's the way in the United States

Yes, I have watched the entire Destinos series and I loved it! There was also a story about ONCE and the blind ticket sellers in one of the Spanish textbooks we used during Spanish classes. I remember seeing lots of blind people selling lottery tickets during my first visit to Madrid. It appears to be quite an institution in Spain.

[greytop]

At the risk of being tiresome; how do I find out if I've won?http://qsmile.com/qsimages/85.gif
See post
http://www.notesfromspain.com/forums/showpost.php?p=4782&postcount=12

BTW there are some serious scams going on with people being told they have won a large amount on a European lottery (often el Gordo in Spain). Next they are asked for some cash for "taxes" or similar.
How they believe they have entered and won a lottery without being aware of it I don't know but these tricksters are good at what they do.

[richardksa]

Ah! I'd missed that. But then how do I find out if I don't have a computer? I've got fed up of lugging my laptop around and never take it with me when I go to Spain, which is why I will disappear from these columns in 48 hours for two weeks.

How they believe they have entered and won a lottery without being aware of it I don't know but these tricksters are good at what they do.

Because some people believe there is such a thing as a free lunch - and they are greedy. One of my Pakistani staff received such a mail and was about to resign his job to a life of luxury before we told him he'd been scammed. Luckily he had not sent any of his personal details to the scammer.

[Edith]

Quite right, and on a similar note, it just hacks me off to see people paying for their groceries with food stamps (government assistance) while buying $20 in lottery tickets at the same time. :mad: I'm not opposed to a little assistance for people who are down on their luck, but if you have $20 to blow on lottery tickets, well, come on, man.

They probably do it out of despair.

[Brian]

They probably do it out of despair.

More likely out of ignorance. Their mindset is that it's worth blowing a few dollars here and there if it eventually pays off. What they don't realize is that it probably never will.

[gary]

There are a lot of sites like
http://www.loterias.com/

Search for "loterias" on Google

You can also buy tickets online but watch out for the ones that want to enter you in multiple draws/lines as part of a syndicate. You can spend a fortune and only get back a small proportion of the winnings (if there are any!)

Naah not into sharing!!!

[Marina]

Ah! I'd missed that. But then how do I find out if I don't have a computer? I've got fed up of lugging my laptop around and never take it with me when I go to Spain, which is why I will disappear from these columns in 48 hours for two weeks.

If you buy a ONCE (http://www.once.es/) lottery ticket for let's say next Friday, you can go to an ONCE (http://www.once.es/) kiosk and hand in your ticket and they check if it's got a price by reading the number and date with a special machine. So there you are you don't need internet for everything... just yet:D

On the other hand, "El Gordo", which is the famous christmas lottery, does not belong to the ONCE (http://www.once.es/), it belongs to Loterias y Apuestas del Estado (http://www.loteriasyapuestas.es/), the same ones that run "Quiniela" (football) and "Loto".

[richardksa]

Thank you, Marina.