Risaralda Lottery to hold double draws in October
On August 10, a public calamity rendered the headquarters of Lotería del Risaralda inoperable and forced the immediate suspension of the subsequent draw. Since then, the Colombian entity has been operating, but with a delay. Each Friday, the draw corresponding to the previous week takes place.
To close this gap, the administration devised a contingency schedule supported by double sessions during October. The manager, Bibiana Garcés González, summarized the commitment in two ideas: no draw will be left unplayed, and in October, two draws will be held per week until the calendar catches up with the current week.
Meanwhile, the lottery balls continue to spin outside Pereira. The draws are conducted in the vault of Lotería de Manizales, thanks to a solidarity agreement between both institutions, and they will return to their headquarters once the renovations are complete, which include calibration, technical maintenance, and security of the ball machines. In parallel, the entity has already secured a new property where it will consolidate its administrative, legal, commercial, and operational areas, after the previous building became unusable.
The other front is financial. The Lottery maintains that its technical reserve is sufficient to cover the prize plan and sustain operations without disruption, a point that Garcés González linked to the institution's 59 years of existence and its history of compliance.
The reactivation is also noticeable on the streets. More than 355 lottery vendors resumed sales in Risaralda, especially in Plaza de Bolívar and the department's busiest commercial corridors. A significant portion of this group consists of seniors and single mothers whose income depends on ticket sales, and the entity requested that purchases always be made from known vendors, presenting this purchase as a gesture of support for the department's reconstruction.
Lotería del Risaralda has been operating for 59 years, and a portion of its revenue goes directly to the departmental health system. 12 percent of ticket sales are transferred to public health.
Tags: Risaralda Lottery, Bibiana Garcés González, Manizales Lottery, Pereira