The treasury services contract for Spain’s State Games is on the verge of being awarded. The banking sector is competing to manage the National Lottery, Primitiva, and Euromillones, seeking to secure a major role in prize distribution and administration.
The Christmas season began with the traditional extras at the Teatro Real in Madrid, where drums, bowls, and other supplies welcomed the Extraordinary Christmas Raffle on 22 December. Banks are likewise awaiting their own designated awards on these dates. The State Lottery and Betting Corporation (Selae) is expected to announce which financial institutions will handle prize payouts exceeding 2,000 euros for the lottery. If selected in the bid, the chosen institutions will take on the treasury duties. The arrangement supports an annual prize pool totaling over 9,000 million euros across the entire portfolio of state lottery games.
Selae’s Board of Directors issues a biannual tender to identify banks authorized to collect prizes on behalf of winners. In the most recent round, treasury services were tendered to nine financial institutions, including a Temporary Union of CaixaBank, BBVA, and the Spanish Confederation of Savings Banks (CECA), which comprises Banco Sabadell, Abanca, CajaSur Banco, Cajamar, Ibercaja, Kutxabank, and Unicaja.
Why do banks find distributing lottery prizes appealing? Financial institutions value the ongoing relationship with the General State Administration and lotteries, as it provides a stable client base. Spain currently operates about 4,200 lottery offices and over 10,600 outlets nationwide, according to the most recent figures from the National Association of Lottery Managers Associations (Anapal). Another practical reason, often cited by insiders, is that winning bids reflect well on a bank when dealing with state entities, providing a reputational boost and a competitive edge in subsequent tenders.
The final tender window opened in February 2023 and runs through 2025, with the submission deadline set for 30 November. The award decision is anticipated in the following days. Industry sources note that this contract has been reissued because some financial institutions did not find pricing terms attractive enough, and only a single bank submitted a bid in a prior call. The tender document also notes that Selae may extend the contract by an additional 12 months on a unilateral basis.
In total, a network of more than 16,000 bank branches—composed of institutions that originated through public tenders—provides treasury services for the various state lottery games, independent of geographic region. To participate, banks must meet nine specified requirements, including maintaining a certain level of banking infrastructure. Market insiders explain that firms with a unified technology backbone frequently enter the process, aiming for seamless service delivery across multiple channels.
Overall prize draw figures show a strong performance. Despite a temporary stop during the pandemic, the state lottery system has continued to grow. Selae closed 2021 with sales topping 9.359 billion euros, with 5.566 billion euros attributed to active games such as the National Lottery and Joker. In 2020, the corresponding figure stood at 4.644 billion. According to Anapal president Borja Muñiz, sales in 2021 included approximately 155 million euro-tenths, contributing close to 3.1 billion euros in total revenue for the year.
Beyond prize payouts, the distribution of winnings also feeds into government revenue flows. The sale of each lottery ticket yields a 4% commission to the point-of-sale management services. Additionally, Gestha, the Ministry of Finance Technicians, notes that the state claims around 20% of lottery prizes exceeding 40,000 euros. For the Gordo prize, which is divided into ten parts, winners receive around 328,000 euros each, with the remaining portion allocated to the Treasury. The second and third prize tiers also contribute substantial sums, with tens of thousands directed to the Treasury and significant portions awarded to prize winners in the respective tiers.
Analysts highlight that even if the top three jackpots are distributed domestically within the year, the Treasury could see a sizable gain from the sale of additional series. Projections circulate that the ministry might collect several tens of millions of euros more than the previous year if the anticipated distribution patterns hold. Market observers emphasize the potential for continued growth in prize distribution and treasury receipts in the Christmas Lottery draws and related games, buoyed by a large national footprint of lottery offices and retailers that sustain the ecosystem year after year, despite broader economic shifts.