As the coronavirus continues to spread, many countries all over the world have implemented restrictive quarantines.
Shopping malls, theaters, cinemas, public parks, flea markets, liquor stores, casinos to name a few, are now closed to the public. Grocery stores, pharmacies and petrol stations will remain open during the lockdown period for essential use only.
According to The Guardian an estimated 20% of the population worldwide is currently part of some form of lockdown. More than 88,500 people have died and over 1,51 million cases have been reported worldwide. Governments along with health departments all over the world had to take these steps to keep their country and citizens as safe as possible and informed during this time.
With rules and regulations that were implemented immediately in each country, people’s everyday lives, as they knew it, have changed. People can’t just stop at the shop on their way home to buy a lotto ticket because they feel lucky on a specific day.
Even though South Africans will have to wait to claim their big winnings personally, the weekly draws will continue as scheduled.
European countries like Italy, Spain and France were hit the hardest with the coronavirus outbreak. Regular lotto players from these countries are not as lucky as South African players during the lockdown.
Spain
The Spain lottery operator Sociedad Estatal de Loterías y Apuestas del Estado (SELAE) has suspended all ticket sales, at lottery retail shops and online, across the country as from the 15th of March. The payment of prizes less than €2000 (approx. R39,500) have also been suspended. All draws that were scheduled from 16 March will be postponed until a later date. Except for the draws for EuroMillions and El Millón that were scheduled for 17 and 20 March, that would still have taken place.
SELAE has also confirmed that all tickets that were bought for postponed draws will remain valid until a later date. Although banks will remain open allowing the winners to collect their winnings, those who won more than €2000 (approx. R39,500), SELAE has urged players to stay at home and wait until the state of emergency is over. All deadlines for claiming winning tickets have also been extended.
Italy
Although Italian citizens have access to online lotto activities, the Italian Government had to shut down their offline gambling industry completely. This measure has been taken to avoid unnecessary movement of people in towns and queues at the local shops. This is the first time in Italy’s history that the Italian Lotto is stopped completely, even during WW2 it wasn’t stopped.
France
In France, players are allowed to buy their tickets from the shops, but the French national lottery operator, FDJ (La Française des Jeux) urge the players to only buy a ticket as a complementary purchase and that citizens should only go out to purchase the basic necessities. The France lotto results are also available to all players on digital platforms and the FDJ has extended the claiming period for winners who won during the lockdown.
