Caixa Econômica Federal is preparing to reintroduce Lotex (Exclusive Instant Lottery), also known as “scratch cards”, within 60 days. So, this means that by the second half of October one of the most popular games in Brazil will be back.
Prizes can yield up to R$2 billion
The bank conservatively expects revenue from the product to be up to R$2 billion. Thus, the financial institution will sell the game exclusively for 24 months. Revenue forecasts are for the current fiscal year.
But the institution makes it clear that the exclusivity period begins with the first issuance of a lottery product ticket in physical or digital form. The product was initially scheduled to be sold in the first half of 2024, but there were unresolved doubts about its operation.
Then, on July 22, the Caixa Loterias bank subsidiary signed an agreement with the LTX Brasil Consórcio. The company providing the service receives a percentage of product sales as remuneration. surgery
The bank will allocate 65% of the amount collected towards the total payment of the prize. In fact, the bettor will receive this amount back.
Furthermore, bettors will be able to play their games virtually through a simulator. Prizes of up to R$2,259 can be exchanged for lottery tickets. From this amount, the winner must contact the Caixa Econômica branch.
In December 2023, the Treasury Department authorized financial institutions to reopen Lotex. The bet varies from R$2.50 to R$20.
Until 2015, when scratch cards stopped circulating, games cost between R$0.50 and R$2. The highest price at the time was R$600,000.
The bank is evaluating whether online refunds will increase the convenience of bettors. There is also a part of the game that focuses on the social area (16.7% of the total data collected).
History of Lotex, the popular scratch card
Lotex operated in Brazil from the 1960s until 2015, when it was dissolved by order of the CGU (General Comptroller of the Federation), which questioned the legality of its operations. In 2018, new legislation reestablished this method in the form of concessions through a bidding process.
But, at the time, they held two auctions with no interested parties. Requirements were relaxed and in 2019, IGT (International Game Technology) and SG (Scientific Game) became the first consortium in Japan to win the competition to acquire Lotex’s concessions.
The group had planned to start operations in 2020, but the service would only be possible through a distribution agreement with Caixa, so they withdrew from the agreement.
Thus, on February 28, the government of President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva (PT) excluded Lotex and, consequently, scratch cards, from its privatization program. This measure was formalized by Decree No. 11,935 of 2024.
