DR1 Daily News - Dominican Republic

Santo Domingo is grappling with escalating visual contamination and urban disorder, fueled by the relentless proliferation of lottery booths (bancas de loterías) across its streets and avenues. Diario Libre’s Adalberto de la Rosa reports that these small, highly-visible businesses are not only cluttering the capital city’s aesthetic but are also, in many cases, outright violating municipal regulations regarding spacing and the crucial use of public sidewalks. The newspaper highlights that city ordinances are ignored by lottery booth owners.

The consortia that run this line of business are now ubiquitous, setting up shop in small, brightly colored spaces everywhere in the capital city and the provinces. Their presence is felt from rich to poor neighborhoods. He writes about their proliferation in the exclusive residential zones like Piantini, Renacimiento, La Esperilla, Los Prados, and La Castellana, to major thoroughfares including Abraham Lincoln, Winston Churchill, Máximo...