Politicians want to save lottery night

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“Lotto”! Screaming with happiness on the lottery night of the Hornusser Society Recherswil-Kriegstetten brings two kinds of joy: when the Solothurn club organizes a lottery, it improves its finances. And the winner looks forward to a fruit basket or a voucher from the local clothing store. But the voucher is now a bummer.

The Gambling Act is to blame for this. A lottery evening such as that of the Hornusser Society or a tombola are legally classified as small lotteries. In order not to require approval, the winnings must be non-cash prizes only and the winnings from the stakes must not exceed 50,000 francs. The problem: Many clubs also hand out vouchers as prizes. That then requires a cantonal permit and a lot of bureaucracy.

Small five-figure amount

Anton Schmid is chairman of the Hornusser association Recherswil-Kriegstetten. Until now, his club has held a lottery competition every year – also with vouchers as a prize. “Financially, that makes up a large part of our annual income,” he tells Blick. He speaks of a small five-figure sum. But not only the money is important. “The lottery competition is good publicity for us. This gives us a larger catchment area – from Langenthal to Burgdorf, also outside the Hornusser scene.”

From Schmid’s point of view, it is difficult to completely replace the vouchers with non-cash prizes. “It’s not exciting. If someone wins twice, should he bring two bicycles? Or eat ten kilos of meat?”

Gambling supervisor speaks a word of power

The law has been in effect since 2019. But because not all cantons implement the new rules with the same consistency, the national gaming regulator spoke out and demanded implementation in those cantons that had done nothing so far. However, there are still cantonal differences. For example, in the canton of Bern, vouchers can only be played without a license if they represent a maximum of 20 percent of the profits and come from local companies, writes the “Berner Zeitung”.

Last year, the Hornusser Society moved the lottery night forward to make it even easier to play. “We sold out twice. So the need is there. The only thing that nobody understood was the decision of the games of chance authority,” says Schmid.

He now hopes that the rules will be relaxed: “That is not possible. Our lottery night won’t make you addicted to gambling.” Next week there will be a meeting to decide how they want to organize the lottery night in October next year. “At the moment it looks like we’re going to tackle the extra bureaucracy.”

“The lottery in the hall must not be slaughtered”

Now politics has also become active. State Councilor Stefan Müller-Altermatt (46) is annoyed by the high hurdles. “For example, half of the maximum bets must be redistributed, even if you earn less,” says the blazer, who plays in a music club himself. “Of course that reduces profits.”

Müller-Altermatt now wants to know from the Bundesrat what room for maneuver there is so that the clubs can continue to hold their lottery evenings. “I hope for some pragmatism from the Bundesrat.” He states, “The lottery in the hall must not be butchered.”

SVP Landsraad Walter Wobmann (65) sees an enormous effort for the clubs. “With the clubs it is not about a lot of money, but it is important to them.” The law is intended to combat gambling addiction. “Anyone who participates in the lottery once a year for his club certainly does not become addicted to gambling.”

Source:Blick