By Guillermo Martinez
MADRID (Reuters) – Disgruntled lottery sellers staged walkouts on Wednesday to demand higher commissions on ticket sales, as much of Spain celebrated the annual ritual of a Christmas draw that distributes billions of euros in prizes.
Known as ‘El Gordo’ (The Fat One), the festive draw dates back to 1812. Millions participate, eager for a piece of a large prize pot that this year reached 2.41 billion euros ($2.72 billion).
In the months leading up to the draw, in which many small prizes are distributed, many Spaniards club together to buy tickets or fractions of them, often favouring particular vendors or numbers.
But some winners may find it hard to claim their prize this year after some sellers, who say they are struggling to make ends meet, walked off the job in protest at the 4% commission they get on Christmas tickets, compared with 6% on other draws.
“It’s been 17 years that we’ve received the same commission,” said Natalia de la Fuente, 31, the daughter of a lottery seller.
“Prices go up, taxes go up and the commissions remain the same. We have to pay our bills…This is impossible.”
She was part of a group of dozens of chanting protesters waving banners demanding fairer commissions who gathered outside Madrid’s Teatro Real, where the draw takes place.
Inside, pairs of schoolchildren picked the winning numbers and sang them out to an enthusiastic crowd sporting extravagant costumes, ranging from Santa’s elves to the Pope, in one of El Gordo’s emblematic quirks.
Winners collect all prizes up to 2,000 euros from sellers’ kiosks.
“We are ready to close if need be,” said 33-year old Alvaro de Miguel, another of the protesters. “Whatever it takes to get people to listen to us.”
($1 = 0.8850 euros)
(Writing by Nathan Allen, editing by Andrei Khalip; editing by John Stonestreet)
