According to the testimonials of four lottery vendors in Caracas, the most requested brand is Triple Gordo, which has consolidated a portion of the market by being the first of this type of gambling to return in November 2021.
Betting and chance regain space in Venezuelan culture with the return of lotteries after years of hyperinflation and economic crisis, which established conditions that made the operation of these games difficult.
The big traditional lottery brands have made a comeback since 2021, while new games make their appearance over the months.
Again, the kiosks on every corner display advertisements announcing them as lottery ticket sales outlets. The streets are full of advertisements for games like Pegamax, Triple Gordo, Kingo and the recently relaunched Kino Táchira.
A kiosk can sell up to 20 weekly tickets per brand before each draw, according to vendors consulted by SuchWhichalthough the profits for the kiosqueros are reduced.
The sale of tickets establishes a percentage profit margin for resellers. This means that, for each ticket sold, the kiosks keep a tiny percentage.
José Escalona attends a kiosk located in front of Parque Cristal and confesses that, after selling some 32 tickets over the course of the week —because he receives 12 Kingo tickets and 20 Triple Gordo—, a profit of about $10 remains for the kiosk.
Although the return is not too great, the sellers affirm that there is interest from the buyers and the flow of sales is constant.
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The lotteries send, through their distributors, a number of tickets that, they estimate, can be sold by each kiosk. In the event that the week is over and not all are sold, they remove the remaining tickets and replace them with others.
Most of the kiosks consulted claimed to receive between 15 and 20 weekly tickets for Triple Gordo, Kingo and Pegamax; while Kino Táchira distributes around 10 tickets per establishment, possibly because they have just resumed activities.
According to the testimonials of four sellers, the most requested brand is Triple Gordo, which has consolidated a portion of the market by being the first lottery to return, in November 2021.
According to Escalona and other newsstands, the second leading brand in sales is Kingo, the game launched by the Táchira Lottery before recovering the rights to the recently launched Kino Táchira.
«With the Kingo and the Triple Gordo, it does move daily. There are days when I don’t come at all, but others when I sell 7. If they bring me 20 Triple Gordos a week, I usually return only three or four », he related.
On the street, sales may even increase. To the surroundings of Plaza Francia de Altamira there is a group of street vendors who offer tickets to drivers who pass through Avenida del Ávila, in front of Plaza Francia Sur. At this strategic point, they can sell up to 100 tickets a week.
This was explained by Isandre Zabaleta, a young man who has been selling tickets in this area for the last two months. He claims that it is a “family business” since all the vendors in that location are relatives of a dealer who buys tickets to the respective lotteries.
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According to Zabaleta, buyers’ behaviors change over the weeks. He points out that in previous months, it was common to run into a driver who asked for 20 tickets in a single purchase. Now, these same customers settle for fewer units.
“Right now sales have dropped. There are customers who used to buy 20 in one fell swoop, now they don’t buy as much and can take five or ten”, he recounted.
Pegamax doesn’t hit too much
While Triple Gordo dominates the market, Kingo maintains popularity and Kino makes up for lost time, the loser at the Caracas kiosks seems to be Pegamax, the product that launched the Caracas Lottery with much fanfare last year.
Despite being the cheapest ticket, with a price of $1, it is the least sought after against the most expensive competition from Kingo, with a price of $3, Kino Táchira at $5 and Triple Gordo at $5.
According to the sellers, this may be because it is the game with the fewest combinations to “get a worthwhile prize”, since to win $50 you need to match all six digits on the ticket, even if it is not in exact order. . The other rewards reduce the chances, having to hit between four and six numbers in the exact order.
«What sells the most is Triple Gordo and Kingo. The Kino rarely goes out because people are getting acquainted. The Pegamax is rarely sought after, because it is more difficult to get prizes”, reasoned the kiosquero Luis Blanco.
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In some cases, Pegamax is not even considered by the kiosk. Because it is the cheapest ticket and the seller gets a small percentage, the profits can be negligible.
“They ask a lot about Pegamax, but we don’t sell it here because it doesn’t generate profits. We sold it once and the profit is negligible. It’s not worth it,” he said.
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