The Spanish Christmas Lottery has been a tradition since the 18th Century. This has become such a part of Spanish life that many families do not start their Christmas celebrations until the 22nd of December when the draw takes place.
It is estimated that this is the largest lottery in the world, last year the payout fund was over 3 billion euros! It is affectionately known as El Gordo (literally ‘the big one’).

Almost 98% of the population of Spain takes part in this but you don’t need to be Spanish to buy a ticket, many players come from overseas.
Even though this is a Christmas event, the tickets are now released for sale in August. The tickets are sold in tenths as a whole ticket is quite expensive (a tenth costs 23 euros). The tickets have a five digit number and quite a few serial numbers, so each part of the ticket is unique.

The tickets are for sale in a wide variety of establishments including shops and bars though every town has a Loteria Nacional office. Often these tickets are bought as Christmas presents for friends and family

The Lottery draw takes place in Madrid and is televised and broadcast on radio as a three hour show! The whole of Spain comes to a standstill as the winning numbers are read out.

The actual draw hasn’t changed much since 1812. It uses a simple system of wooden balls which are drawn out of two large spherical containers by hand, (traditionally by the orphans of the San Ildefonso School).

The chances of winning, at least one of the small prizes, are quite high - about one in eight tickets will win something.

So, why not take a chance and have a flutter? Maybe you could buy a Spanish property with your winnings!!