Spanish Christmas Lottery
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| Prize | Winning number(s) | |
|---|---|---|
| First "El Gordo" |
1 × €3,000,000 | 20297 |
| Second | 1 × €1,000,000 | 37368 |
| Third | 1 × €500,000 | 79735 |
| Fourth | 2 × €200,000 | 47272,60379 |
| Fifth | 8 × €50.000 | 13044, 19151, 27274, 58915, 59236, 60534, 64303, 73199 |
| "la Pedrea" | 1774 × €1000 | — |
| 2 × €20,000 | 20296, 20298 | |
| 2 × €12,500 | 37367, 37369 | |
| 2 × €9600 | 79734, 79736 | |
| 99 × €1000 | 20200–20296 20298, 20299 |
|
| 99 × €1000 | 37300–37367 37369–37399 |
|
| 99 × €1000 | 79700–79734 79736–79799 |
|
| 198 × €1000 | 47200–47271 47273–47299 60300–60378 60380–60399 |
|
| 849 × €1000 | ###97 | |
| 849 × €1000 | ###68 | |
| 849 × €1000 | ###35 | |
| 8499 × €200 | ####7 | |
| # = any digit The number of prizes is given per series: in 2006, there were 180 series of numbers, giving a total prize value of €2,142,000,000. Prize values are given per number (billete): the tickets which are generally sold (décimos) give prizes which are one tenth of the amount quoted here. |
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The Spanish Christmas Lottery (Sorteo de Navidad) is a national lottery game organized every year since 1812. The name Sorteo de Navidad was used for the first time in 1892. As measured by the total prize payout, the Christmas Lottery is considered the biggest lottery worldwide. In 2006, if all of the tickets were sold, the total amount payout of prizes would be worth more than €2.142 billion (70% of ticket sales). The total amount of all prizes of the first category called El Gordo ("the fat one") was €540,000,000 which was distributed among 180 winning tickets (billetes) that won €3,000,000 each.
Contents |
[edit] The ticket numbers
The Christmas Lottery is based on tickets which have 5-digit numbers, just like the regular drawing of the Spanish national lottery. Due to the enormous popularity of the game, each one of the numbers on each of the tickets is sold multiple times, in several so-called "series". Moreover, since an entire ticket (called billete) is quite expensive, the tickets are usually sold as tenths (called décimos). On a private basis, or through associations and other organizations, it is also possible to buy even smaller participations of one ticket. Usually, the price of those participations is incremented by a supplement that is paid as a donation to the intermediary organization.
The exact quantity of tickets and series, as well as their price and the exact distribution of prizes, may be different each year. For example, in 2004, there were exactly 66,000 different numbers in 195 series. In 2005, there were 85,000 numbers in 170 series, whereas in 2006 the number of series was increased to 180. The price of an entire ticket (billete) was 200 euro, a tenth (décimo) was 20 euro.
According to reports in the press, about 98% of all Spanish people hold at least a small participation of a lottery ticket in the Christmas Lottery each year (this includes tickets purchased or received as a gift). Tickets may be available each year as early as August.
[edit] The draw
Since December 18, 1812, the Christmas Lottery drawings are held according to exactly the same procedure each year. Two big spherical vessels are used. One of them contains several tens of thousands of small wooden balls, representing all ticket numbers. The other one contains fewer wooden balls, representing the prizes to be drawn. Pupils of the San Ildefonso school in Madrid draw the numbers and corresponding prizes, singing the results aloud. Due to the sheer number of numbers and prizes, this procedure takes about 3 hours. In recent years, more than 4,800 individual numbers won at least €1,000 per billete (€100 per décimo). The probability of winning some prize is roughly 15%.
[edit] El Gordo
The climax of the drawing is the moment in which the Gordo is drawn (in 2006, 3 million euros for each of the 180 billetes (or €300,000 for each of the 1800 décimos) sold with the winning number). Lottery outlets usually only sell tickets for one or two numbers, so the winners of the largest prizes often live in the same town or area or work for the same company. In 2005, the winning number was sold in the town of Vic in Catalonia (population 37,825), whose inhabitants shared about 500 million euro (€300,000 per winning décimo). In 2006, the winning number was sold in eight different lottery outlets across Spain,[1] while the second prize number (€100,000 per décimo) was only ever sold from a kiosk on the Puerta del Sol in central Madrid.[2]
As a misconception in many non-Spanish speaking countries, it is often assumed that the term El Gordo is specific for the Christmas Lottery; some even think that El Gordo is in fact the name of the lottery. However, the real meaning of El Gordo is simply "the (fat) first prize"; other lotteries have their Gordo as well. To add to the confusion, there is a relatively new weekly Spanish lottery game called El Gordo de la Primitiva, which has nothing in common with the Christmas lottery, except the fact that it is organized by the Spanish public lottery entity Loterías y Apuestas del Estado.
[edit] Scams
The Spanish law enforcement agencies routinely issue warnings to foreign punters against buying lottery from so-called authorised dealers advertising in the foreign press. Lottery tickets should only be bought from the numerous official establishments found in every Spanish town. A décimo (tenth) ticket costs 20 euro. If a ticket dealer asks for 25 euro or more, then something must be wrong with his or her business.
