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“We will approve a regulation of advertising for gambling and betting similar to that for tobacco products,” promised the agreement between PSOE and Podemos in late December. The Minister of Consumer Affairs, Alberto Garzón , explained a few days ago that the betting announcements on radio and television would be reduced to the strip from 1 to 5 in the morning.. However, the decree of commercial communications of the activities of the game prepared by his department has remained halfway with respect to this limitation, from which radio and television broadcasts of massive sporting events are excluded, a measure that especially affects soccer, which start from 20.00. During the season, almost every day there are games in this time slot, so this type of advertising can continue to be broadcast daily.

Sources from the ministry now point out that they are betting on this type of regulation because a total ban, as happened in Italy in 2018, can be counterproductive and cause all advertising to be hosted on foreign pages that are not subject to any regulation. The majority employers of radio and television had expressed their opposition to Garzón’s first announcement, but sources in the department deny having received any type of pressure.

Despite this, sources from the Ministry of Consumer Affairs consider that the decree – which Garzón presents at a press conference this Friday and contains 100 measures – will change “99% of gambling advertising” and highlight that this is the first time that a government regulates this sector. The norm limits the aggressiveness of the messages and the direct appeal to the user. Many of these announcements now include phrases like “bet, bet, bet, win, win, win!”, Which with the new legislation will be prohibited. The contents will have to be neutral, that is, limited to the brand name. In addition, advertising of deposit bonuses of any amount of money is prohibited , although the betting pages themselves are allowed to offer bonuses of up to 100 euros.

Messages that link the game to personal and social success also have their days numbered, while television commercials and radio spots cannot be starred by celebrities and in fluencers . This change in messages will also affect Lotteries and ONCE (not the schedule). The General Directorate for the Regulation of Gambling will be the body in charge of ensuring that these conditions are met in the advertisements and, where appropriate, of fining violators with penalties that will start at 100,000 euros and may reach, in the event of recidivism, up to 50 million and even at the close of business.

When the decree comes into force – if the deadlines are met in the summer – this type of companies will not be allowed to sponsor stadiums or team names, as is often the case in basketball. And the billboards of the sports venues will not be able to show betting advertising before 20.00. However, the sponsorship of the shirts is not limited, so that the brands of the bookmakers can continue to see each other at any time. You will only be obliged to remove this advertising from the children’s size shirts.

The billboards will not be able to announce this type of business, unless some autonomous community expressly allows it, since many competences at stake are transferred. Ads will also not be shown in venues where children can go, such as movie theaters. Except, once again, the soccer fields from 20.00. Advertising in newspapers and web pages will not be altered, beyond the regulation of content (not aggressive messages) and that invasive ads on the Internet will be limited – those that open automatically when entering a page. In addition, the banners in this sector must allow parental control. The Government is studying how to regulate ads on platforms such as YouTube .

The Prosecutor’s Office wants to end the case opened in the National Court for an alleged fraud in the Christmas Lottery draw on December 22, known as El Gordo. After requesting and analyzing the State Society of State Lottery and Gambling (SELAE) a report on the “incident” that day — when an employee introduced at least one ball with a number into the drum after it went off – The Public Ministry rules out that a crime was committed and asks the magistrate to file the procedure, as ABC has advanced on Monday and legal sources have confirmed to EL PAÍS. As stated in his brief, the “reported anomalies or incidents” do not constitute a criminal offense.

The Central Investigating Court number 6 must now make a decision, after the National Court decided to open proceedings after receiving more than a dozen complaints about possible manipulation of the draw. Although the organization denied the allegations of fraud from the outset, the controversy broke out on December 22, after images were shared on social networks where you can see how the worker introduced the ball by hand. As Loterías said, it fell when it passed from the liras (the wires in which the balls are) to the hopper (the transparent container used to bring them to the drum).

A thesis that supports the public ministry, which has analyzed two incidents. On the one hand, two balls that came out of the hopper and were inserted again by the SELAE staff manually. “In the video it is clearly seen how the balls that fall out are immediately inserted back into it. Incidence that had already occurred, without any consequence, in other draws, as evidenced in the recordings for the years 2010, 2015 and 2017, ”explains the Prosecutor’s Office to rule out the existence of the crime, before also rejecting fraud in the second “anomaly” detected —an employee inserted another ball into the large drum, “having previously delivered the ball by other workers”.

“One of the circumstances foreseen in the process of introducing the balls into the drums is that some of them can bounce towards the outside. In this case, the established protocol indicates that the responsible operator must proceed to manually enter it. That circumstance was what happened, “Loterías defended himself through a statement as soon as the controversy erupted. Thesis that the Prosecutor’s Office also recovers in its brief to request the file: “In the legal and technical regulations for holding the National Lottery draws, [the possibility] of one or several balls falling in the operations prior to the raffle, in which case it is necessary to locate them for incorporation into the rest of them. If this is not possible, we will proceed to replace all the balls with the spare set ”.

But, for now, these explanations have not been enough. After receiving the complaints, the National Court considered that “it is appropriate to accept the competence of these proceedings by this central investigative court number six and to agree on those of evidence interested by the prosecutor.” To clarify what happened, the judge then requested a report from SE LAE and to send him the images of the “incident”. Now the magistrate has the floor.

Francisco Guerrero, 68, has the date of December 14, 2005 engraved on fire. That day, this bricklayer born in Barbate (Cádiz) and resident in Castellón for more than five decades earned 6.47 million euros in the Bonoloto. That day, too, his misfortune began. Guerrero, “the happiest man in the world” up to that moment, put all the money in the hands of a Santander employee who recommended that he fully invest the money in financial products that turned out to be toxic.. The award-winning, self-employed worker and absolutely layman on investment matters lost not only the money but also all the property he had managed to raise in a lifetime of work. The Provincial Court of Castellón held this Thursday the civil trial of the lawsuit of Guerrero and his family against the bank, the fourth process of a 14-year judicial journey. “I am dead alive,” he repeats over and over.

That December 14, Francisco Guerrero knew he was a millionaire when he got home from work. “I thought the prize was pesetas, because the amount was escaping me in euros,” he admits. Joy turned impotence just two years later, by chance and without having tasted the prize. “[The Santander employee] told me that the money there would be in a good place, that it was a fixed term without risk and they were going to give me 17%, I didn’t even know what it was. I trusted blindly and they destroyed my life ”, she sobs at the gates of the Provincial Court of Castellón.

Francisco lost everything, including the part (40%) that he reserved for his four children (650,000 euros each). He did not touch a penny. The courts have already agreed with him on three occasions. “I have won all three trials with the truth,” he says. The last one is just two weeks ago. In 2016 and 2018, two rulings ordered the bank to pay 1.06 million euros plus interest to him and another 1.2 million plus interest to his children. But Guerrero assures that the debts generated by the toxic products have taken everything recovered, since he guaranteed the purchase of those products with their properties, which were mortgaged “at a time when he was solvent,” says his legal representative.

Now it faces the last phase of the process, with which it exhausts the civil route. He claims more than two million euros for another part of the investments made and which he also lost. Depending on the sentence, says their legal representative, they will resort to criminal proceedings.

The economic consequences (“I live as a ‘squat’ in my own house”, as I have not been able to meet the mortgage payments on the house, located in a small town in Castellón), are joined by those that have undermined his health. He suffers from depression and a chronic generalized anxiety disorder that is triggered by the banking conflict, according to the psychiatric report that accompanies the latest lawsuit. “I am in psychological treatment; I’m sick. I don’t deserve it ”, incidences.

As recorded in the last favorable judgment, issued by the Court of First Instance of Castellón on February 26, and which condemns Banco Santander to return around 163,000 euros to Guerrero and two of his daughters for damages, after winning the draw de la Bonoloto the money was deposited in Barclays Bank . “Due to the bank’s mismanagement, the accounts were transferred to Banco Santander Central Hispano in January 2007, and in March 2007 the total transfer occurred.”

Francisco Guerrero, without studies and “totally ignorant in financial matters” —the sentences affirm— invested 6.5 million euros in Banco Santander in what he believed to be risk-free time deposits but instead hired toxic products high risk, which not only made him lose everything invested, but also generated debts. According to the two previous rulings and favorable to the victim, the plaintiffs were not informed of the risks that these products could entail, “relying at all times on the information provided by the bank.” They claim that there was no pre-contractual information, nor was the plaintiffs’ investment profile determined.

“I have not been to school”
“I have never been to school; I don’t even know what profitability is. You give me a pick and a shovel and I make you a work, but I don’t know anything about banks, ”insists Guerrero. It was not until two years later that Francisco learned that the award had disappeared without even passing through his hands. Despite becoming a millionaire overnight, he continued to work as a bricklayer, parking the prize in what he believed to be a safe place. It was as a result of a knee ailment that he learned the bad news. He went to his bank to get 30,000 euros for an operation in Barcelona and they told him that he had nothing.

Today Guerrero hurries his last cartridge. “We are fighting and claiming all the damage that I have, because I am ruined, dead in life. And to see if Banco Santander pays for the damage it has done to me. I trust the judges, the justice. This trial I have to win because I deserve it, “he says. Nostalgia invades him when he looks back. When I worked as a sailor, in the field, the hotel or bricklayer. Until setting up a small reform company. “I have the lottery and that has been my death. They have taken away my house, the land I had from working on the construction site, life… what else do they want to take from me? ”

“It is not good what they have done to me, no. Before I was happy. The happiest in the world ”, he concludes.

State Lotteries and Gambling has suspended the sale of all games (National Lottery, Primitiva and Quiniela), the marketing and payment of prizes of less than 2,000 euros for Lottery games at the usual points of sale, as well as online sales thereof. For its part, ONCE has also canceled all its draws. In addition, all the draws from that corresponding to this Monday, March 16, are postponed until a date to be determined in which their celebration is possible. All tenths and receipts sold through any channel will continue to be valid for the same draws on the date they are finally held.

The measure is adopted considering what is established in the Royal Decree declaring the state of alarm for the management of the serious and exceptional situation of sanitary crisis caused by the coronavirus, and will be maintained for the duration of that situation. For this reason, the tenths and receipts obtained for the draws subject to postponement must be kept until they are held.

EuroMillions and the Million draws
However, the EuroMillions and Million draws on March 17 and 20, 2020 will be held normally with the participation of the receipts sold to date.

The expiration dates of awards that coincide with the period of suspension of services, is also suspended during the validity of the measures contained in the Royal Decree. At the end of its validity, the expiration periods that were pending at the date of the suspension will be resumed.

Likewise, prizes over 2,000 euros, from receipts obtained in the physical establishments of the network, may continue to be collected in those branches of financial institutions that are kept open. However, since the expiration period of the prizes will also be suspended, Lotteries has recommended not to go to financial institutions for this purpose until the end of the period of validity of the decree.

“We regret the inconvenience that all these decisions may cause, but given the seriousness of the public health problem raised, we must align ourselves with the efforts of the entire society to protect the primary good of health,” the statement concludes.

ELEVEN draws
For its part, the ONCE has reported that it suspends starting this Monday the draws of its traditional lotteries, including coupons and the extraordinary Father’s Day coupon, until the situation generated by the coronavirus recovers and the state of alarm ends. declared by the authorities.

“Based on the measures taken by the different administrations, which have concluded with the declaration of the state of alarm, the ONCE has taken all possible decisions in defense of its workers, as well as to guarantee the rights of consumers, and maintain the coverage of its 72,000 members and the rest of people with disabilities. “

Sergio Paluzo (44 years old) has been serving customers of his tobacconist with gloves and mask for more than a month from the gate that covers the door of his store. He just reinforced it with a recycled screen from a chewing gum shelf to protect himself from the coronavirus , a threat now more tangible than the theft risk. The tobacco and stamp vendors operate through a state administrative concession and their businesses provide a public service that has not been affected by the measures of the royal decree that regulates the state of alarm .

“The atmosphere is weird. People come in a hurry and are afraid, “he explains. Its tobacconist is on Calle Alfonso XII, in the heart of Seville. Before the pandemic emptied the streets, it was a must for hundreds of tourists. “An average of 600 people a day used to enter. This afternoon, in the two hours I have opened, six have passed, ”he says. “People only buy tobacco. Everything else is stopped, “he admits.

Since the crisis erupted, its sales have dropped 60%. Sources from the Union of Tobacconists of Spain say that until the end of April there will be no official data on the impact. The decrease in direct sales is compounded by the loss of income from the vending machines installed in the bars managed by many tobacconists and the suspension of the Lottery.

He has not yet consulted with his manager what government aid may be used to mitigate the effects of the crisis. “For those who most of their income comes from the vending machines, the closure of the premises has meant ruin, without counting on the tobacco that stays in there and which cannot be disposed of,” explains Antonio Cruz, Vice President of the Provincial Association of Tobacconists of Seville. “The main concern is that not all our associates have sanitary material, such as gloves or masks, or protective screens that cost around 200 or 300 euros,” he adds.

When the confinement was not yet a reality, the fear of closing the tobacco shops caused the massive purchase of tobacco. After the initial avalanche, smokers arrive with a dropper. “The center is not a residential area and those who enter are passing through. Of course, those who used to ask for a pair of packs now take a carton or three bags ”, indicates Paluzo.

In Spain there are 13,500 tobacconists in which 25,000 people work, according to the Union of Tobacconists of Spain. Paluzo’s situation cannot be extrapolated. “In humble neighborhoods, more tobacco is sold because the presence of the police on the streets has reduced contraband,” he says.

“In the afternoon there are hardly any people on the street. I have closed the closing at seven o’clock in the afternoon ”, says Paluzo. His great aunt opened the tobacconist about 50 years ago and it has been passed from generation to generation until reaching his hands. A very common family management in this type of business that, for the moment, has limited the incidence of ERTE in the sector , they explain in the Union of Tobacconists of Spain.

“No one in my family remembers a similar situation,” admits Paluzo, who already thinks about recovering normality. “One of the most important things will be to minimize the economic burdens that may have been generated in these weeks for small and medium-sized entrepreneurs. It will be hard work, but among all of us, we will surely get it ”, venture from the Union of Tobacconists.

Starting this Monday, State Lotteries and Gambling returns to launch their raffles throughout Spain , with the marketing of their products both online and physically, since Lottery administrations can already open throughout the national territory, including the Autonomous communities or areas that are in phase 0.5, such as the Community of Madrid or Barcelona, ​​after the latest changes by the Government . The raffles have been suspended since March 15 , when the state of alarm was decreed.

This week from May 18 to 24, the Primitiva and the Euromillions will resume, while the Bonoloto and Gordo de la Primitiva draws will restart in the week of May 25 to 31. Thus, this Tuesday, the 19th, the first EuroMillions will be played and on Thursday, the 21st, the first Primitive. La Bonoloto will resume on Monday, the 25th, with its daily draw and El Gordo on Sunday, the 31st.

As for the National Lottery, it will go on sale again on the day that the sale of active games begins and the draws will resume on June 11, 2020. Until then, the first draws will be to retake those that were not held in its time after the coronavirus stoppage, with which the tenths will be valid. The list of delayed draws can be found on the page of the State Lottery and Gambling State Society (SELAE).

In addition, all tenths and prize tickets whose prize would have expired during the alarm state remain valid when their expiration has been suspended during the alarm state.

Although, among the measures of the de-escalation for the territories in phase 1 the opening of the administrations was already contemplated, SELAE postponed the return as only 51% of the Spanish were in that phase, at the expense of this Saturday there were changes with the entry of more territories.

The return of the draws is good news for the state coffers, very stressed due to the coronavirus pandemic, which has caused a large drop in tax revenues and contributions and a large outlay in benefits and aid to companies and sectors. affected. SELAE is one of the few profitable public companies. In 2018, the last year for which the data has been published , it billed almost 9,000 million euros and obtained close to 1,800 million euros of profit. During the 2008 crisis, the Government, then chaired by Mariano Rajoy, was close to listing 30% of the company in 2011 , but it was finally ruled out due to the low market valuation .

As for the ONCE, it still has no scheduled date. The organization is already working on the design of a training and information campaign for its vendors, as well as the provision of sufficient hygiene and protection elements to recover the sale of its products safely, both for them and for the people who acquire their traditional coupons and other lottery products. All sales agents are ONCE labor personnel and will join when security conditions “are absolute”, they explained from the organization.