Over $200 Million in Boledo, Lottery Sales

The Belize Government Lotteries Limited (BGLL) is celebrating strong sales and continued public investment as it expands its reach through technology and innovation.

Managing Director Janel Espat revealed that Boledo and Lottery sales have seen impressive growth since the company’s first full year of operations. “Our first calendar year, our sales were a hundred and eight million dollars,” Espat shared. “We are hoping, by all indications, that for the second year our sales will be a hundred and thirty-seven million dollars. So, for two years, that’s two hundred and forty-five million dollars in sales.”

Espat explained that BGLL’s contributions to national programs remain a core part of its mandate. “Well, currently, we’ve made contributions to the Government of Belize, specifically for the NHI project, in the amount of twenty-two million dollars,” she said. “At BGLL, our responsibility ends with making the disbursement. How it’s channeled, that would be something that the Ministry of Finance would make the decision for.”

Meanwhile, Dr. Ramon Figueroa, General Manager of the National Health Insurance (NHI), said the lottery’s contributions have been vital to expanding healthcare access across the country. “We deal with the overall budget for the NHI, so we get a combination of general revenue, government’s contribution from general revenue,” Figueroa explained. “When government decided to have the lottery as part of the finance for NHI, that is what has allowed us, then, to be able to expand to Orange Walk and now doing the work in the Cayo District.”

He added that while expansion in Cayo has been “a little more complicated than expected” due to its size and dispersed population, the funds provided have been crucial in moving toward nationwide primary care coverage.

BGLL also launched its mobile app today.