The Lottery in Spain
There are several weekly and annual lottery draws in Spain. Here you will find information on and links to the games and the draws...
The lottery in Spain is incredibly popular and a number of different games are run each week. There are further special draws at Christmas.
State run lottery tickets can be bought at the official outlets (Loterias y Apuestas del Estado). They are blue and have a distinctive sign outside.
Foreigners and non-residents can take part in the Spanish lotteries. As of January 2013, all lottery winning are taxable whether or not they are taken out of the country.
Primitiva
The
lottery in Spain is incredibly popular and a number of different games are run
each week. There are further special draws at Christmas.
State
run lottery tickets can be bought at the official outlets (Loterias y Apuestas del Estado). They
are blue and have a distinctive sign outside.
Foreigners
and non-residents can take part in the Spanish lotteries. Winnings over €2,500
are subject to a 20% tax.
Primitiva
Tickets
can be bought at any of the licensed outlets. You can either choose 6 out of
the 49 numbers or allowing the computer to select them for you. The draw is
made on Thursdays and Sundays. The grand winner is the ticket which has all six
numbers matching the winning numbers. There are smaller prizes for fewer number
matches.
Bonoloto
This
is similar to the Primitiva with
a draw of six out of 49 numbers, however the Bonoloto draw is made every
Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday.
La Quiniela
This
is a game based on the football results (similar to the football pools in the
UK) where the player has to predict the outcomes of the league matches. Tickets
can be bought from the official lottery shops.
El Niño
This
is another extraordinary draw made on January 6 each year, in honour of the
festival of Los
Reyes. on the 6th January. The name El Niño means
"the boy" and refers to the baby Jesus.
Cupón de la ONCE
This
is a charity game run by the national association for the blind, the Organización Nacional de Ciegos
Españoles. Tickets are purchased at the Green kiosks which
can be found in most town centres. ONCE employs over 23,000 registered disabled
people to run its lottery and all kiosks are staffed by the blind and disabled.
The
main draws are on Fridays and Sundays, but there is also a daily draw for a
smaller game. Prizes can be anything up to €300,000. Smaller prizes can be
collected at the kiosks which sell the tickets but larger prizes must be
claimed at the national bank, the Banco de España.
The
results are broadcast each evening on TV and winning numbers are made available
at the kiosks and online.
El Gordo de Navidad
El
Gordo de Navidad, meaning "the Christmas fat one", was introduced by
King Carlos III in 1763 as a way of offering people a better way of life.
This
is the biggest draw of the year and tends to mark the beginning of the festive
period in Spain, El
Gordo, with the draw made each year on December 22. The winning
numbers are drawn by pupils of the San Ildefonso primary school in Madrid,
which was once an orphanage and has always been home to the children who make
the draw.
More recently
a summer draw has been introduced.
The
tickets to enter the draw (décimos and participaciones) can
be bought from authorised traders. The draw is part of the traditional
Christmas build up and is well-covered by Spanish TV and radio. The draw is
held the morning of the December 22 and lasts for about three hours. The odds
of winning something are
one in six.
EuroMillions
Euro
Millions is a European lottery, which was created by the French,
Spanish and UK lottery associations and launched in February 2004. The jackpot
is usually much greater than the national lottery; a "roll over" (no
winner) on this lottery can produce enormous prizes after just a couple of
weeks. The stakes from the player in all the countries is pooled together, the
minimum jackpot is €15 million.
How to play
The
draw takes place every Tuesday and Friday evening. The game is based around a
draw of numbers, which must match those on your ticket. All players of the
EuroMillions Lottery must be over 18 and prizes can only be claimed in the
country where the ticket was bought. Winning numbers are published online;
there is also a record of previous draws.
Further Information