This is the colloquial name in Spain for the Christmas Loteria Nacional which is drawn on 22nd December.
They call it El Gordo because it’s the mother of all lotteries – the Fat One!
The number one winning el Gordo Spanish Christmas lottery for 2008 was number 32365 sold in a lottery shop on Las Ramblas in Barcelona. The winning number is worth 300 million euros in total. But there are many other winning numbers with lesser prizes.
A famous Danish business once said, " Money doesn't buy happiness, but it buys something that resembles it a lot!"
And that is why everyone is Spain play the "El Gordo" Christmas lottery. That and because El Gordo cashes more lottery prizes than any other lottery draw in the world making the Spanish Christmas lottery the biggest lottery payout in the world! That's why it's called El Gordo - the Fat One!
The annual prize payout is about 3 billion Euros in total and the size of this Christmas lottery prize has made El Gordo into a self-perpetuating success.
The bigger the winnings, the more tickets people buy, which makes the prize winnings even bigger, and even more people buy more tickets. And that’s is precisely how the legendary Spanish lottery of El Gordo has become the biggest in the world!
It’s so big that even people who don’t normally gamble can’t resist the golden lure of El Gordo at Christmas. Since it started in 1812 it has grown into a lottery, where practically everyone in Spain has a lottery ticket or a part of a ticket.
It is estimated that at least 75% of the population of Spain play El Gordo. Some say the figure is more like 90% and it is also estimated that each Spaniard spends around 75 euros in total!
Some more facts. The lottery draw is managed by the Spanish government. 30 % of the lottery sales goes to the government in taxes, but the 70% that is paid out in prizes is completely tax-free.
Another reason why El Gordo is so popular is that the prize money is spread over some big cash prizes but also many many smaller cash prizes, which means there is there is a 1 in 3 chances of winning.
So don’t do what I did for several years in a row. I bought Spanish Christmas lottery ticket, watched the news on 22nd December to see the winning number displayed on TV by hordes of cava crazed villagers, who all seemed to have the same number. And then I dejectedly threw my ticket away.
Wrong! There are many prizes. I should have checked my ticket to see if I had won of the 30.000 different cash sized prizes! But no-one told me!
I might have won 5000 euros, 10000 euros or more! Now I will never know, because I threw my ticket away not having completely understood how El Gordo works.
I am still in therapy. I have not asked my therapist if she has won El Gordo, but she probably has.
Everyone in Spain seems to have one a prize in El Gordo as some point in their life or they know someone who has. I can only hope I made some beggar who found my ticket in the trash container a very happy man. Or maybe this sad tale will inspire a Spanish country singer to write a song about it.
Anyway my point is; don’t let this happen to you. Buy a newspaper and check your number. Go to a lottery ticket shop and check your number. Go online and check your number!
The Spanish Christmas lottery numbering system and the El Gordo prizes
The numbering system itself is very complex
You don't pick your own numbers in the traditional lottery sense.
For El Gordo you buy a pre-printed ticket.
There are 85,000 different numbers in the Christmas 2006 El Gordo Lottery.
Each ticket number has a picture of a nativity scene, which changes every year.
On 22nd December every year the winning numbers are drawn.
This is done live on Spanish national TV In a tradition that dates back to 1812. Er.. well El Gordo dates back to 1812… but maybe it was not televised back then!
From 08.30 in the morning of the 22nd a boy or a girl of San Ildefonso School in Segovia pick out the small wooden balls out of two big golden drums.
Then the children sing (yes it does says sing!) out the numbers one by one.
This goes on for about three hours. It’s very sweet and Christmas in Spain just wouldn’t be the same without it.
Naturally because of the money involved it’s very exciting viewing, at least until the 1st prize, 2nd and 3rd prize is drawn.
The tickets and numbers
An El Gordo ticket (billete) has a pre-printed a 5-digit number.
Each ticket number has multiple series’ or sets of the same ticket number
The exact quantity of tickets and series, as well as their price and the exact distribution of prizes, vary from year to year.
For example
In 2004 there were 66,000 different ticket numbers in 195 series’.
In 2005, there were 85,000 ticket numbers in 170 series’
In 2006 there were 85,000 ticket numbers but in 180 series’
A series is like an A4 sheet with 10 smaller tickets on it. (see illustration below)
A full ticket sheet (billete) costs 200 euros.
Each ticket sheet is divided into ten smaller tickets called “décimos” which cost 20 euros each.
Most people buy a “décimo,” because it looks like a lottery ticket, and if they are anything like me, then buying a ticket is the is the only part of the whole malarkey, that they actually understand!
But as explained above, though I am sure no-one has read it, it a “décimo” is technically a tenth of a ticket!
So how do the El Gordo prizes work?
This is where it gets complicated. Pay attention because there will be test after the article ;-)
The first prize of El Gordo goes to a single winning number.
In 2006 the winning number was 20297 and the prize amount was 3 million euros.
There were 180 series’ of the number 20297, so the 3 million was paid out 180 times to a full sheet or ticket with that number.
So the total payout to the first prize number of 180 x 3 million = 540 million euros.
Anyone holding a tenth of a ticket, a “décimo” of the number 20297 in 2006 won the corresponding amount of the 3 million prize for each ticket in the series.
So a “décimo” - a tenth of the number 20297 won 300.000 euros in 2006.
How to win the Spanish Christmas lottery El Gordo?
Well if I knew that, then I would not tell you would I, but in my opinion the tbest hing to is to buy a “décimo” yourself .....then maybe buy one more.. ....and maybe a third more just for luck..! You can never buy enought luck!
Then I would do like the Spaniards and buy in to other tickets. Many people, companies, bars, charities buy one or more “décimos” and sell it off in parts to colleagues, friends, customers etc.
Parts of “décimos” are called “participaciones”
You need some of them.. Just for extra luck! And to be sociable! I mean what if everyone in the office won and you didn’t. It would ruin your working relationships.
So get a few “participaciones” and then maybe another “décimo” for yourself.. you can never be too lucky..
Like I said before – it’s self perpetuating – A vicious and expensive, but fun El Gordo circle.
Thank God it’s only once a year.
And it is fun. For a start you will not win alone (if you win) and it’s so much nicer winning together.
In northern Europe if you win a big lottery win, you put a chair against the door, fake your death in a freak photocopier accident, change your name to something that won’t easily be found on Google like “Mr. Yahoo Google” and leave town with the loot and a one-way ticket to a Polynesian island.
In Spain when someone wins the lottery it’s smiles all round. Nobody leaves town and money is spread around the whole family. It’s a sharing thing. Everyone gets a share of the lottery winnings.
And that’s why a whole village or neighbourhood can be seen on TV every 22nd December hugging each everything and everyone and spraying Cava like there’s no tomorrow! They have won the Spanish Christmas Lottery, El Gordo!
How to buy tickets for El Gordo.
You can buy tickets online at the official website.
Admittedly the site looks a bit old fashioned and lame, but it’s the official website of the “Loterías y Apuestas del Estado”, the Spanish Lottery organization nevertheless.
Here you will also be able to check your El Gordo Spanish lottery ticket online to see how much you have won!
Closer to the drawing date there is also special to the El Gordo Christmas lottery website.
Most people in Spain buy at the numerous lottery ticket offices throughout Spain or they buy “participaciones” at bars, offices or from family and friends.
If you live outside Spain there are many online companies who sell tickets. Some of them are probably quite genuine and trustworthy, but we suggest you check their references carefully before you buy.
Beware of El Gordo scams.
In recent years there have been many examples of scams by people purporting to represent the El Gordo Lottery, mostly aimed at non-residents of Spain, who don’t know how the lottery operates.
The bottom line is that if you didn’t not buy a lottery ticket, then you have not won, so don't fall for anything without checking at the official organisation in Spain.
You can see the official warning about these scams from the Spanish lottery site here:
The official operator of the Spanish El Gordo lottery, Loterias y Apuestas de Estado has issued a warning about fraudsters using the name El Gordo and forging documentation and bank forms to obtain money under false pretences. Mailings and emails are being sent to UK consumers claiming they have won the Spanish lottery.
In order to claim their 'prize', recipients are asked to provide their bank account details and told that 5-10 per cent of the winnings will be retained for costs. However the 'winners' are later contacted and asked for various fees in order to release their alleged prize, and they never receive a penny. Genuine Spanish lottery prizes are always free from taxes.
If you receive fraudulent El Gordo material you can help the investigations of Loterías y Apuestas de Estado by sending a copy to the following address:
Loterías y Apuestas del Estado Legal Advice Service
C/ Guzmán el Bueno nº 137
28003
Madrid Spain
Fax number: 00 34 91 533 51 36.
Good luck and don't leave buying your ticket too late..
Or they will all be gone!
