EL GORDO – Loteria de Navidad
El Gordo ~ Spanish Christmas Lottery
Every year the draw takes place on 22 December. This is the time when people all across Spain, club their money together to buy a stake in this amazing draw.
History of El Gordo
Otherwise known as the ‘Fat One’ this famous national lottery game has been organized by the Spanish Goverment since 1812. This Spanish tradition, which everyone enjoys, allows all to dream of becoming rich and living a life of leisure. Entire towns and villages have prospered from the Fat One. For example, a few years ago the Catalan town of Vic (inland from Barcelona) were the winners and the town received €510m (£350m).
How El Gordo works
The Spanish Christmas Lottery is considered to be the biggest lottery in the world and nearly 100% of Spanish people have a portion of a lottery ticket and dream of becoming rich.
It is based on 5 winning numbers. A lottery ticket (billete) costs €200 so tickets are sold as tenths (décimos) for 20 euros each. The Christmas Lottery draw follows the same procedure every year since it began in 1812.
Where is it held?
The lottery is held in the Madrid National Lottery Hall (Lotería Nacional hall of Madrid). Boys and girls from San Ildefonso school take a ball from the bowl of numbers and another draws the corresponding prizes. The children then sing the results in front of a crowded hall and it’s all broadcast live on TV.
Watch it on TV!
As you can imagine everyone who isn’t in the hall is glued to their TVs to see if they are going to be the lucky winners. The draw takes about three hours and the winners always give a donation to the San Ildefonso school.
Buena Suerte y Feliz Navidad!
Spanish Christmas Lottery Website
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