El Gordo Spanish Lottery

The El Gordo Spanish Lottery game is without a doubt one of the biggest world lotteries. The El Gordo, which translates to ‘the big one’, offers a large volume of players a huge amount of prizes. Although the El Gordo de la Primitiva takes place twice a week the El Gordo is slightly different. The El Gordo has three very special draws a year: The El Gordo Navidad, which takes place on the 22nd December, the Sorteo del Nino which happens on the 6th of January - the day of the Epiphany- and the third, the summer draw which is held on the 5th July.

How to play the El Gordo

Playing the El Gordo is different to any other world lottery and it has its own unique way of selling tickets. Tickets can be bought in whole, as a complete ticket, which is known as the ‘billete’; however this can be quite costly so most players participate through buying fractions of a full ticket, in tenths, known as ‘décimos’ as they are more affordable. If they win with a 'decimo' they will take home one tenth of the prize value. Tickets are known to sell out for the El Gordo Navidad because the operators of this lottery only release a set amount.

Tickets (Billetes) for the El Gordo are printed in large groups of different series, so a number printed on a ticket of one series can appear on a ticket of a different series as well. To date there have been as many as 195 series of tickets for a single Gordo Navidad draw. In theory this means that if a number is drawn out then up to 195 full tickets (billetes) with that particular number will win that particular prize. Players who are lucky enough to match any of the numbers drawn out will take home their winnings in a tax-free cash lump sum.

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Players do not select their own numbers like other lotteries that are available to play, but simply buy tickets with the number already on, meaning that the El Gordo Navidad plays out in a raffle style. Draws in this game also take place in an interesting way. El Gordo Navidad draws last, on average, over three hours, and use two ball machines known as ‘bombos’ in which one draws out the winning number and the other draws out the prize value. The draw happens in Madrid and it is part of the El Gordo tradition to have school children from the San Ildefonso School to draw out the numbers and also sing them at the same time.

As there are so many prizes available win in the El Gordo it makes it one of the most exciting lottery games to participate in. This is not only one of Spain’s most popular lottery games but also one of the biggest and richest that can be found across the globe.

El Gordo Navidad

The El Gordo Navidad, also known as the ‘Sorteo Extraordinario de Navidad’ takes place just before Christmas and is the biggest El Gordo draw purely because of the huge prize pool that it offers. The name of this lottery means the Christmas Jackpot and has gained a huge following worldwide. The majority of Spanish citizens take part in this draw which sees a huge amount of players win every year.

In the El Gordo Navidad has a staggering amount of prizes available to win, with the prize pot valued at over €2 billion. The volume of prizes in the El Gordo is one of the reasons why it has become so popular to play.

This special lottery game has been embedded into Spanish culture since it was first introduced way back in 1812. The whole country watches the draw from start to finish which can take three to four hours to complete. The El Gordo Navidad lottery is a very social game to play, because not only do people watch it together but families, friends and sometimes whole villages buy tickets together.

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