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Sales of New Year's Eve lottery tickets in Turkey have plunged 30 percent as distrustful customers seemingly turn their backs on the national lottery's pro-government joint operator.
The 2019 transfer of national lottery Milli Piyango operating rights to the pro-government Demirören Group’s Sans Digital arm, and Italy’s Sisal Group, damaged public confidence in the lottery, the Bold Medya online news service and New Fox 24 website reported on December 29.
New Fox 24 quoted Hüseyin Poyraz, president of the Ankara Artisans Chamber of Games of Chance and National Lottery Outlets, as saying that customers distrust “many institutions” in Turkey and maintain “distrust of this company”.
The Demirören Group is closely linked to the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP), which under President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has moved the nation in a firmly autocratic direction, including an ongoing purge of political opponents.
Poyraz said the number of mobile lottery kiosks has also declined over the last year, down from some 500 to less than 100 registered operations, of which “only 45 mobile lottery kiosks … are actively operating”, according to Bold Medya.
“In the past, the national lottery would transfer funds to the defence sector or to education or charitable organisations,” he said in comments translated by the anti-government Turkish Minute website.
“Even if they did not win a prize, people would feel relieved knowing that some of the proceeds of the drawing would be used to fund these organisations.”
However, Poyraz also said the Sans-Sisal joint venture cut retail commissions from 9.75 percent to 4.25 percent, consequently hollowing out the number of vendors.
Opposition politician Deniz Yavuzyilmaz also alleged in November that the joint venture had made the lottery harder to win.
The fall in Milli Piyango sales is even more dire news for Italy’s Sisal Group, whose revenue from its joint venture in Turkey is being eviscerated by the tanking Turkish lira, which fell from 7 lira to the dollar to a low of almost 17 lira to the dollar in 2021. The current rate is 13.8 lira to the dollar.
The company has recently agreed to accept a €2bn takeover offer from Flutter Entertainment.
