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Red Cross May Take Out "21" With
Court Action
Joining the fight by Junta de
Protección Social de San José
(JPS) to rid the streets of the
"21 de la suerte" lottery game
is the Cruz Roja Costarricense
(Red Cross), who this week is
expected to appeal to the
Constitutional Court to suspend
the game.
Miguel Carmona, president of the
Red Cross in Costa Rica,
believes that the "21" game will
negatively affect the "Tico
Bingo" that is run by the Red
Cross and is a major source of
funding for the organization,
Carmona added that the games are
very similar and the public is
easily confused and to the
detriment of the Red Cross.
"We are the only institution
authorized by law to offer the
bingo game in Costa Rica. We
have nothing against Hogares
Crea to have an income, but not
to take advantage of a system
that has been in place for many
years", said Carmona.
The "21" game is owned by a
Costa Rican corporation with
Brazilian capital and is
offering the game on every
street corner and mall with a
portion of the proceeds going to
Hogares Crea, an institution
that offers support to troubled
teens around the country.
The Red Cross president added
that the Tico Bingo is the only
game that is authorized by the
JPS - the state agency that runs
all lotteries, save the Tico
Bingo - and will continue on the
streets as usual. With the
Christmas holiday and the "aguinaldo"
to hit the streets soon, Carmona
is worried that the "21" game
will take away from the Red
Cross a much needed source of
income.
Meanwhile, the JPS general
manager, Luis Polinaris, is
having is own fight with the JPS
board of directors. The "21"
organizers say that they have
the approval of the JPS board to
run the game, while Polinaris
says that his office is the only
authority to grant permissions
for lotteries and not a function
of the board of directors.
An commission has been formed to
investigate if the "21" has
permission, which is to be for
three years, and how it obtained
the authorization for a game
that has been on the streets for
the last five weeks.
Notwithstanding the arguments,
the "21 de la suerte" will be
going ahead with its draw today,
like it has done in the past
weeks.
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