It’s that time of the year again! You can join the world’s biggest lottery raffle, the Christmas El Gordo, famously known as Lotería de Navidad and for good reason called "The Big One". And why is this a popular lottery? Because each ticket has a chance of winning you a share of the huge amount available for prizes.
And this year the total prize money is €2.38 billion!
The draw will take place on 22 December. How do you partake? You simply pick shares in a five digit number ranging between 00000 and 99999. Yes, you’re purchasing one or more of the 1700 shares available for each number.
Here are some facts so you can enjoy the game even more.
How do You Play Christmas el Gordo Raffle?
Christmas El Gordo tickets all have five digit numbers ranging between 00000 and 99999. Each ticket is split into 10. These parts are called shares or ‘decimos’ in Spanish. Tickets are then pre printed and you’ll receive one when purchasing yours.
Look at the play page and you’ll see which numbers are still available. You can’t purchase more shares than are currently available.
Now you have various options:
- Pick and buy shares across any available tickets. Spreading your shares among different tickets increases your chances of winning.
- Pick several shares in one number. Choosing more shares in a single ticket increases the amount you will win if that number wins a prize, because your eventual winnings relate to how many shares you have in a prize. If your number is worth €1000 000 and you own 1 share in the number, you will win €100 000... That's great, but if you own all the shares in that number, you win the full amount of €1000 000
You can take part even if you only purchase a share of a ticket. You can enjoy the game no matter your budget!
Some History on Christmas elGordo Raffle
The Christmas elGordo Raffle has been around since 1812. Now it’s one of the largest globally in terms of prizes and how many tickets are eligible for prizes.
Every year the draw is held around Christmas time and the event is a show of note. Local media covers the event and everyone loves the participation of Children of San Ildefonso School. The students assist in drawing the wooden balls, distributing the prizes and best of all they sing out each winning number. It’s not simply a draw but a festival that can take up to three hours!
How does it work?
The elGordo is a unique lottery game because of the high number of tickets available. This is possible because all numbers—between 00000 and 99999—are repeated in multiple series - in 2017 there are 170. These numbers with series references are printed on the Christmas lottery tickets. Now each ticket is divided into tenths or ‘decimos’. These are the ‘decimos’ (shares) you can purchase.
During the draw you’ll see two drums:
- One drum contains 100 000 wooden balls. Each has a lottery number—between 00000 and 99999—printed on.
- The second drum has balls with the different prizes on.
The host for the evening takes a ball from each drum, shows them to the audience and the children sing out the numbers.
If your number matches a drawn number you share the drawn prize amount with the owners of the 170 winning tickets. Because of the different series, 169 other tickets also contain the number you picked.
Are you as excited as all the other El Gordo ticket holders? Don’t miss out on this unique experience that only takes place once a year. You can find your ticket on LottosOnline.
