Spanish Christmas Lottery at Lottoland South Africa

Table of contents:

• WHAT IS EL GORDO DE NAVIDAD?
• HISTORY OF THE SPANISH CHRISTMAS LOTTERY
• EL GORDO - MORE THAN JUST TRADITION
• MORE THAN R12 BILLION IN FIRST PRIZE PAYOUTS
• THE EL GORDO TV ADS: BOX OFFICE GOLD!
• MEET LOTTOLAND BIGGEST EL GORDO WINNER
• BET ON THE SPANISH CHRISTMAS LOTTERY FROM SOUTH AFRICA

WHAT IS EL GORDO DE NAVIDAD?

The Spanish Christmas lottery is officially called Sorteo Extraordinario de Navidad (literally "Extraordinary Christmas Draw") but it is popularly referred to as El Gordo de Navidad, ("The Fat One of Christmas") or simply El Gordo. Although technically, El Gordo refers to the main prize itself and this term is also used for other Spanish lotteries.

El Gordo de Navidad is the largest lottery in the world with a total prize pool of €2.4 billion (R42.8 billion*). We have summarised everything you need to know about this generous lottery in a very short video below. Try your luck this year with a bet on the Spanish Christmas lottery with Lottoland El Gordo!

HISTORY OF THE SPANISH CHRISTMAS LOTTERY

The Spanish National Lottery (Lotería Nacional) is the second-longest continuously running lottery in the world and was conceived at the height of the Peninsular War (or Spanish War of Independence, as it is better known in Spain).

In 1808, French forces under Napolean Bonaparte occupied Spain, which had previously been its ally. 

The port city of Cádiz, in southern Spain, held out against the French and in 1810, Cádiz claimed legitimacy as the sole representative of Spanish sovereignty.

In 1811, the Spanish parliament in Cádiz approved the first Spanish National Lottery, which was the brainchild of Ciriaco González Carvajal, the Minister of the Council and Chamber of the Indies. The lottery was set up as "a means to increase the revenue of the public treasury without loss to the taxpayer" and thus raise money for the state coffers in order to fund the cost of the War of Independence.

1812 is a very significant date in Spanish history. Following its approval the previous year, the draw for the first Spanish National Lottery took place on March 4, 1812, and shortly after, on March 19, Spain's first constitution was signed in Cádiz.

The first Spanish National Lottery which took place at Christmas time was held on 18 December 1812.

 The first prize was 8,000 pesos fuertes and the cost of the ticket was 40 reales (1 peso fuerte = 8 reales). The winning ticket number was 03604.

In 1892, the Christmas draw has held on 23 December and in 1897, the name Sorteo de Navidad first appeared on the ticket. 

By the 1930s, the tradition of El Gordo de Navidad was so strong that not even the Spanish Civil War (1936-1939) could stop it from taking place. In fact, in 1938, two lotteries were held, one in Barcelona and the other in Burgos.

Although the first winning tickets were drawn in Cádiz, for more than 100 years, the draw has been held in Madrid, apart from during the years of the Civil War, when it was also held in Valencia as well as the previously mentioned cities.  

22 December is now a red-letter day in the calendars of the Spanish people and according to estimates, about 90 percent of the population of Spain are eagerly awaiting the annual announcement of the winning numbers. South Africans can, too, now.

El Gordo Bonus Bet applies to New Customers Only.

EL GORDO - MORE THAN JUST TRADITION

The Spirit of Christmas is all about sharing with others, connecting with friends and family and being generous. No other lottery in the world embodies this as much as the Spanish El Gordo de Navidad.

The draw itself is a spectacle like no other lottery. Two gigantic spherical cages are used during the process. Inside the larger of these are 100,000 wooden balls, each emblazoned with five-digit numbers from 00000 to 99999. The smaller sphere contains 1,807 balls, with a number representing the euro amount. One ball from both cages is released at the same time to match a number with its prize, and this continues until the smaller sphere is empty. As you can imagine, this takes quite some time.

Since 1871, children from the San Ildefonso school (originally an orphanage) have drawn the balls and proceed to sing out the numbers in a jovial manner. 

Since 2012, the draw has taken place at the Teatro Real in Madrid and curiously, many members of the public who attend the live draw dress up in lottery-themed fancy dress!

What makes the Christmas lottery so unique compared to other international lotteries is the way in which the winnings are distributed among the lot buyers. First, 70 percent of total revenue is paid out in prizes - a much higher amount than is usual with other lotteries. And second, it ensures that as many prizes as possible are distributed among the population. The price for a ticket is relatively high, which is why most Spaniards buy only shares called décimos ("tenths") rather than a full share, meaning that the joy of a win can be shared between many people.

*Lottoland South Africa will payout the Rand equivalent of the Euro exchange rate at the time of the payout.

MORE THAN R12 BILLION IN FIRST PRIZE PAYOUTS

The top prize (El Gordo) is 'only' four million euros, but the good news is that this amount will be paid out 172 times. This means that a whopping €688 million (over R12 billion*) is paid out in total in the first prize class waiting to be won by the people. In addition,there are many smaller prizes such as La Pedrea (loosely translated as "avalanche of pebbles"), generated in the lower classes to boost that Christmas cheer.

Some stores have become very famous as sellers of lottery tickets. El Gordo fans stand in line for hours just to buy a ticket from these supposedly 'lucky' outlets such as Doña Manolita in Madrid and La Bruixa d'Or in Lleida.

Lottery numbers that have some significance to people tend to be particularly popular. In 2015, among other things, the number 28915 quickly sold out because this represented the date of the total eclipse in that year.

Since many shares with the same number are delivered to the sales outlets in a particular village, town or region, in the event of a win there is often an outbreak of celebrations for that whole region if the number comes out of the draw – much like when a South African lotto winner is from a township or poorer community. One extreme example occurred in 2011 when almost every single inhabitant of the small town of Sodeto became rich overnight as they had all bought the same winning lot series. In 2013 the town of Mondragón, hit hard by the economic crisis, was able to bring around €160 million (R2.8 billion*) into the northern Basque region when they hit the big time. You could probably hear the popping of the champagne corks in Madrid.

2015 was also a celebrated year for the Spanish Christmas Lottery at Lottoland. A small syndicate from Wolfsburg in Germany showed just how to hit the biggest lottery in the world when they bet on share number 79140 and nabbed the maximum profit of €4 million (R71 million*).

THE EL GORDO TV ADS: BOX OFFICE GOLD!

Traditionally, the way to tell that Christmas season in Spain has arrived is when the TV commercial for the Spanish Christmas lottery hits the screens. Get ready now for a touch of pathos and a story to tug on the heart-strings, elaborately produced to highlight the true strength of the biggest lottery in the world: the shared joy of giving a gift even before the big giveaway. The 2021 version of the Christmas Lottery was filmed in the snowy and picturesque town of Elizondo, Navarra. The advert truly shows the Christmas Spirit and beautifully resonates with El Gordo's motto el mayor premio es compartirlo ("the greatest prize is to share it").

MEET LOTTOLAND'S BIGGEST EL GORDO WINNER 

In 2015 one of our Lottolanders from Germany banked the top prize by betting on Lottoland's Spanish Christmas Lottery - and received an incredible early Christmas boost of €4 million (R71 million).

Although he chose to remain anonymous, he was kind enough to share a few details about himself and his big win. He'd been shopping around online for a way to enter the Spanish Christmas Lottery online, outside of Spain, and opted to bet with us.

He formed a syndicate with his wife and three friends and together they pooled their money to purchase a full bet share, giving them the chance to take home the biggest prize. Each member of this mini syndicate chose a number, and they sat back and waited for the big draw.

"When I got the win notification I had butterflies in my stomach. I simply could not believe it,” he told us. In a state of disbelief, our lucky winner patiently waited for his wife and friends to finish work before telling them the good news.

Despite pledging to keep celebrations modest, we did get him to reveal what his first major purchase might be. In true German style, it was a BMW racing bike. Of course, he wasn't the only Lottolander to claim a prize from the El Gordo Christmas Lottery.

BET ON THE SPANISH CHRISTMAS LOTTERY FROM SOUTH AFRICA

Once again, with Lottoland you don't need to head over to Spain in order to enjoy the fun. You can simply place a bet with Lottoland on the outcome of the Spanish Christmas Lottery to win the same prizes. Check out our Christmas Lottery page and wait for 22 December to discover the outcome of this generous lottery.

¡Feliz Navidad! As they say in Spain or sterkte for South Africans!

*Rand - as per exchange rates at the time of publishing.

Last Updated: November 2021