After selling 450 tickets – equivalent to 90 tenths in shares of five euros, of which four were destined for the game and one was reserved as a donation – Villamanín made a key error: they did not register all the shares in the lottery administration, a necessary procedure for buyers to have the right to collect the prize. The reason, a checkbook with the verification of 50 ballots already sold and their corresponding money, were forgotten at the home of one of the organizers of the municipal celebrations and were never registered. As a consequence, fifty participations were left without the support of the official tenths.
The ruling, , has unleashed a wave of questions across the country about the ticket sales system, the role of associations and lottery administrations in this process and the scope of responsibilities and consequences for each of the parties.
How does the ballot system work?
The points of sale of the State Lottery and Betting Society only sell tenths and receipts. The ballots, which are within the uses and customs, are managed by associations or non-profit entities, without any responsibility arising from this management on the part of the administration. Entries are not official tickets. Its function is to prove that the buyer is entitled to a specific part of a tenth, in proportion to the amount played. For this reason, Loterías ignores them.
These are equivalent to a prize-sharing agreement, in which whoever organizes the sale – whether a festival committee, an association or a sports club – acts as an intermediary. Hence, it is essential that the group has the tenth that covers the shares sold, since without that support the ballot is a dead letter.
What is the process between the associations and the lottery administration?
The association asks a lottery administration to set aside a chosen number for it. From there, he prints some ballots with the chosen digits and puts them up for sale, while the corresponding tenths remain guarded in a safe that the lottery keeps. In the days before the , the group delivers the money collected and the administration exchanges it for tenths: depending on the amount deposited, as many tenths are issued as appropriate. These then become available to the association.
If a checkbook is not delivered to the administration, is the damage irreversible?
If the money collected from a checkbook is not delivered to the administration, the lottery cannot exchange it for tenths for the association. Consequently, in the Christmas Raffle they are not listed as sold and are left without official support. The deadline to return them to the commercial delegations of the State Lottery and Betting Society is December 21 at 10:30 p.m., at which point the administration loses the possibility of sending them and their custody falls to the official managing entity of the Christmas Lottery.
Who collects the prize?
The association presents the official tenths in an administration or bank authorized by State Lotteries and Betting, where the number, series and fraction are verified. Since it is a large prize, it is not paid in cash, but rather by bank transfer to the group, which appears as the holder of the tenth. This is obliged to distribute the prize with the buyers of the tickets according to the amount played indicated in the participation. If the person responsible refuses or delays payment, the ticket holder can civilly claim the amount. When you buy a ticket, . This is not official before State Lotteries and Betting, but it is valid against the group that issues it.
How is the money given to the buyers of the shares?
The association can make a bank transfer using a certificate of what corresponds to each participant, with the corresponding personal income tax withholding. For example, last year you created a pre-registration onlinewhere the winners entered their personal data and the details of their ballots. Once verified, the club summoned each winner with the intention that they show their ballot and receive a nominative check along with proof of payment.
How will the residents of Villamanín do it?
They have not yet agreed on the form. For now, they have agreed that those of the shares that they themselves have bought (about five tenths and some ballots) and the rest of the winners accept a percentage reduction of their profits until they cover the four million.
How is this transfer of money qualified?
The transfer of money from the winners who accept the reduction to those who were left out is considered a donation. It is voluntary and without direct compensation, which is why the Treasury classifies it for tax purposes as such. There is no automatic withholding on these amounts because the 20% deduction was already applied in the payment to the original winners. However, the donation must be declared in , according to the limits and rates of the corresponding autonomous community. The transferors do not pay another withholding to the bank, but they may be required to file a declaration and pay taxes on the donation.
What happens if a neighbor sues when they change their mind and oppose the agreement?
You can request an injunction so that the prize is not paid. It is important to keep in mind that. Time is against the people who want to receive the money. If they distribute the prize and the complaint is filed later, the return of the money will depend on what the judge dictates. It is essential that the neighborhood agreement be recorded before a notary and signed by everyone to avoid lawsuits.
Who will have legal repercussions if there is a complaint?
Only the party commission, the lottery is not to blame, he only exchanges the money given to him for tenths, according to several experts. He doesn’t have to know that a checkbook has been lost along the way, since he doesn’t make the ballots. In the event of a lawsuit, those responsible for the municipal celebrations will be asked for civil liability, that is, they will receive a monetary sentence to pay for the damage caused. There is no criminal procedure because neither profit motive nor fraudulent intent is proven. The sale of the forgotten checkbook with 50 participations is 250 euros because each ticket cost five euros, of which 50 were already a donation.
Is it legal to collect a donation as an amount from seniors on a ballot?
Yes, it is legal to charge a donation added to the amount played as long as it is clearly informed to the buyer. It is not essential that the entity be formally a non-profit association to sell ballots, but it is essential to treat this extra cost as a donation. If the association does not have legal personality or is not non-profit, it may be considered irregular income or a hidden overcharge, with possible tax or legal consequences. Another legal conflict can be added to the economic conflict. According to what some affected people have told the newspaper Heraldo de León, “the festival commission is not constituted as such, so legally they are nobody.” If so, solving the problem would be even more complicated.
Is it possible to know who owns the unrecorded shares?
Yes, the ballots are numbered to keep track of who bought each share. But only the association knows with certainty which tickets were consigned and which were not, unless it publishes a transparent record for buyers, a viable option if it has kept a clear and verifiable record of which tenths support each ticket.
Do all administrations agree to reserve tenths for associations that make ballots?
Many lottery administrations choose not to reserve numbers for specific associations that make ballots to avoid this type of problem. The lottery operator of the , Rubén González, who distributed El Gordo in Villamanín, confesses that from now on he will only attend to this type of requests when they come from large and established entities.
