“With a note dated 26 January, the Minister of Economy and Finance transmitted, for the acquisition of the required parliamentary opinion, the draft ministerial decree for the identification of the events to be combined with the national lotteries to be carried out in 2024. Yes it is a compulsory "stage" in the path that leads to the adoption of the definitive measure for the annual calling of national lotteries with deferred draws. As usual, in fact, the process requires that the draft decree be assigned to the competent parliamentary commissions of the House and Senate, which are called to express their opinion within 30 days of assignment. Therefore, within the first days of March, there will be definitive confirmation as to whether, formally, the Italian Lottery will be the only deferred lottery for 2024 too." This is what he wrote in a note Italian Federation of Tobacconists.
“It must be said, however, that, beyond the formal aspects, no surprises are foreseen. From reading the accompanying report to the decree drawn up by the Customs and Monopolies Agency, in fact, the result appears rather obvious. Moreover, «...in an attempt to revitalize the sector, the number of lotteries has been progressively drastically reduced - and, continues the ADM - the disappointing results achieved, which have led to the recourse to the integration of the mass of prizes paid by the funds specifically allocated in the foreseen chapter of the State Budget in order to allow a suitable attribution of prizes [...] as well as the absence of applications from the organizing bodies, aimed at combining national lotteries with demonstrations or events, have led to the choice to hold only the Italian Lottery". A conclusion, that of holding the Italian Lottery alone, which has found fertile ground for some time now, although the sector regulations provide for the possibility of holding up to a maximum number of twelve per year, in addition to an international lottery", the note continues.
“The drastic reduction in deferred draw lotteries is, according to the Administration, attributable to the growing disaffection of the public towards this gaming product. «The reasons for this negative trend – we read in the technical report – can be found, first of all, in the increase in gaming offers, especially with the prospect of immediate winning, which has led to a heavy decrease in public interest. Secondly, over time, the traditional sense of combining it with demonstrations and events known and appreciated by the public has been lost and the request of the organizers has often been aimed solely at obtaining an economic contribution which has, moreover, revealed itself in in relation to the envisaged quantification mechanisms, of very modest magnitude given the results achieved". The only bastion in the deferred lottery sector, therefore, is still represented by the Italian Lottery which, thanks to its tradition, in the last edition recorded a +10% compared to the previous year (6.703.526 tickets sold compared to 6.013.665 in 2022 , Ed.). The absence of a combined Scratch Card has also been confirmed for the next edition, a choice adopted in relation to the legal provision which imposes a ban on any form of advertising relating to games and betting with the sole exclusion of deferred draw lotteries. Great confidence in the success of the game, however, is placed in the combination of the lottery with television and/or radio programs of national appeal. According to the ADM, this is an important element, also in terms of tax revenue, considering that the media impact exerted by the television message is capable of arousing curiosity towards the lottery and greater interest on the part of the public", concludes the note.
