“El Gordo.” The name appears on the front pages of the main Spanish media on Sunday evening, December 22. Every December 22, Spaniards hold their breath before knowing the highly anticipated numbers of the Christmas lottery in which 76% of adults participate in the country, reports The Parisianaccording to figures from 2017.
For this Christmas 2024, 2.7 billion euros are at stake, or 112 million more than last year.
The draw is broadcast live on Spanish television. It's tradition: “El Gordo” has taken place every year on the same date since 1892, recalls an article in the Spanish daily The Country. It is the oldest lottery in the world, as the first edition took place in 1812.
What are the rules?
But be careful, the rules differ from the traditional French lotto. Equivalent to the French FDJ, the Spanish national lottery issues 193 series of 100,000 tickets, numbered from 0 to 99,999. On the big day, the numbered balls are mixed into the enormous golden ball “the hype“. The evening takes place every year at the Royal Theater in Madrid, for four hours, from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. and the winning numbers are sung by the children of the Royal Boarding School of San Ildefonso in Madrid.
A series is worth 20 million euros, which amounts to 200 euros per ticket. But to facilitate resale, each ticket is divided into “tenths” or decimos in Spanish. Translation: a tenth is worth 20 euros and allows you to win a tenth of the prize at stake.
According to custom, families, friends or work colleagues get together and bet on the same number to share the winnings. Bars, restaurants etc. can purchase tickets to resell them to their customers. Sales generally take place from July until the day before the draw.
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