The Spanish Christmas Lottery is an annual event that has become famous for offering the largest draw prize in the world. The El Gordo or ‘first’ lottery prize is a life-changing €4 million, with roughly 15 thousand prizes awarded on the night. By reading this guide, you’ll learn all about the lottery and whether you can enter it.
What is the Spanish Christmas Lottery?
The Spanish Christmas Lottery, or El Gordo Lottery, is the largest and most popular lottery event in Spain. The draw is held on December 22 every year, and it is common for locals across Spain to celebrate the draw with parties. It is held by the LoterÃa Nacional, Spain’s state lottery foundation.
The lottery has become a staple Christmas tradition for Spanish locals and expats around the year due to the fact it is the second-longest running lottery in the world. It was first held in 1812 and has been running uninterrupted since then. Approximately 90 percent of people in Spain participate each year.
In Spain, the LoterÃa de Navidad is the biggest and most popular prize draw of the year.
In 2022, there will be 180 million tickets for sale, with the total prize pool valued at €2.52 billion dollars. The lottery uses an interesting system that sees a series of 100,000 numbers printed. Every ticket holder with the same digit will win the El Gordo prize.
This means that the odds of winning the top prize is 1 in 100,000. When considering that there are plenty of other secondary prizes, this makes the odds to win much more favourable than most other major lotteries. In the upcoming sections, we’ve explained more about the ticketing and draw process.
The Ticketing System
Tickets or billetes for the national lottery are sold in a series of 100,000 tickets for €200 each, with each number having a five-digit number printed on it from 00000 to 99999. These tickets are perforated to allow for splitting into ten ‘décimos’, with each tenth costing €20.
The series of tickets are numbered, with 2022’s draw offering 180 series of 100 thousand tickets. If all tickets were sold, this would generate €3.6 billion, with 70 percent of these revenues returned as cash prizes. Often, shops will sell a one or two ticket numbers in all series. This often results in entire villages, neighbourhoods or workplaces winning prizes.
The Prizes
There are a total of 18 different prize scales for the Spanish Christmas Lottery, with thousands of players able to score a win or, at the very least, a return on their investment. Below, you’ll find a list of the top prizes, their values and how many are awarded.
- El Gordo – €4 million – 1 Prize
- Second Prize – €1.25 million – 1 Prize
- Third Prize – €500,000 – 1 Prize
- Fourth Prize – €200,000 – 2 Prizes
- Fifth Prize – €60,000 – 8 Prizes
The above prizes are based on specific lottery balls that are drawn. The other tiers of prizes are based on digits of the top three prize numbers. For example, if your ticket number is one above or below the first prize ticket, you’ll win the seventh highest-valued prize of €20,000.
The Spanish Lottery can be purchased from various vendors at the country’s annual Christmas markets.
This is repeated for the second and third prizes. Again, three more prize tiers are awarded for the tickets that share the same first three digits of the top three prizes, and another three prize tiers for the tickets that share the same last two digits of the top three prizes.
The lowest valued prize awards a refund of the ticket price to the numbers that share the same last digit as the first prize. This means that there is essentially a one in 10 chance that you’ll receive a refund on your ticket price at the very least, which is a very attractive offer.
The Draw
The National draw is held during a televised event on the 22nd December of each year. It begins at 9 AM and goes all day. The proceedings are traditionally undertaken by forty children between eight and fourteen years old who attend the Colegio de San Ildefonso school in Segovia.
The children pick out small wooden numbered balls out of two golden drums with each containing all 100 thousand numbers. One drum contains the winning numbers and the other has the prize amount. When each is picked, the two children sing the winning number and the prize value to the audience.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do you still have more questions about the Spanish Christmas Lottery? If so, then keep reading to find fast and accurate answers to some common queries about this major lottery event. If you’re still looking for easy-to-read discussions on a range of interesting topics, be sure to check out more of our online gambling articles.
Can I play the Spanish Christmas Lottery in the UK?
Yes, you are able to play the Spanish lottery in the UK. Just be sure that you purchase your tickets from licensed vendors. As is the case in the UK, Spanish online gambling sites and lottery sites must be licensed, so be sure to pick an authorized seller.
Is it worth entering the Spanish Christmas Lottery?
The Spanish Christmas Lottery offers some of the best odds of any lottery in the world. The chances of winning the El Gordo prize are one in 100,000. By comparison, the UK lottery odds for the Euromillions jackpot prize are around one in 140 million.
Where can I buy Spanish Christmas Lottery tickets online?
There are several licensed lottery retailers in the UK that sell legitimate tickets to the Spanish Christmas Lottery. One of the best options is Unibet. Unibet is one of the most trusted gambling operators in the world, so you can be certain that you will be looked after.
