La ONCE: Why blind people sell lottery tickets in Spain

Find a small kiosk with green and yellow writing on, then walk 10 minutes down the road and you’ll see another one – they’re everywhere, especially in big cities.

When they’re open, there’s usually a person sitting inside and sometimes you’ll see people queuing at them too.

These are the ONCE cabins for the Spanish National Organisation of the Blind (Organización Nacional de Ciegos Españoles).

ONCE is a non-profit foundation and charity which aims to improve the quality of life of blind people, those with reduced vision and other disabilities.

Essentially, the organisation raises money by selling lottery tickets. The people in the cabins are typically blind or disabled themselves and are the ones in charge of selling the tickets.

ONCE was founded in 1938 during the Spanish Civil War, and the first lottery tickets went on sale in May 1939.

Blind people were already selling lottery tickets in some cities of Spain but it was actually Francoist Spain that set up the first national organisation as a means of providing the blind in war-ravaged Spain with a source of income, giving the organisation a monopoly for the sale of lottery tickets.

The earnings also funded schools for the blind across the country, and sweet factories where sightless people were employed.

ONCE began with just one lottery type, but today ONCE cabins sell many different types of lottery tickets.

The most popular is El Cupón, taking place daily from Monday to Thursday. The Friday lottery is El Cuponazo while the weekend draw is known as the El Sueldazo.

They also sell scratch cards, bingo and other games, as well as tickets for the Eurojackpot.

Tickets range from €1.50 to €3 depending on the type of lottery you play, and winnings can be up to €6 million (with the exception of the Eurojackpot). Often, however, they’re smaller amounts of around €200, but it depends on the lottery and the day.

READ ALSO: Murky money - When Spanish politicians were the lottery kings

La ONCE currently employs around 75,000 people who are often blind or have disabilities.

As well as employing lottery ticket sellers, the foundation also owns a news agency, an industrial laundry, the Illunion hotel chain and temp agency that supplies cleaners and security guards to offices.

It is the largest employer of people with disabilities in Spain with around 60 percent of its employees recognised as having one.

Funds from the lottery tickets not only go to employment, but also education, rehabilitation, psychosocial support, adapted technical aid, communication and access to information sport and leisure activities.

They also help provide tactile paving so blind people can find their way out on the streets, as well as guide dog services.

ONCE also owns several different foundations – the ONCE Foundation for Cooperation and Social Inclusion of People with Disabilities, the ONCE Guide Dog Foundation, the ONCE Foundation for solidarity with blind people in Latin America (FOAL) and the ONCE Foundation for the Care of People with Deaf blindness.

It's not just in Spain where ONCE is making a difference; it's also an active member of the World Blind Union, which has organisations for blind people in 190 countries.

Through its different organisations, companies and lottery cabins, La ONCE has helped change the lives of thousands of blind and disabled people in Spain.