The Spanish seem to be lottery mad with every family, on average, spending over 100 euros every Christmas on the millions to one chance of becoming a millionaire overnight.
But the lottery is not just for Christmas, although that is when there the biggest prizes are advertised, as there are opportunities to play every day of the week should you so desire.
The National Lottery in Spain is, as the name suggests, run by the State and the ONCE is run by an association which supports people with visual disabilities. The variety and range of “games” you can play is almost limitless and there are a number of sites on the Internet that explain everyone in detail in English and in Spanish. Simply type Spanish Lotteries into your search engine and there is an endless list
This article is not aimed at encouraging our readers to play the lottery or to give it free publicity, however, several of our readers have asked NEXOnr to feature an article which explains the mysteries of the Spanish Lottery. As a total Lottery agnostic the extremely unlikely possibility of becoming an over night millionaire holds little fascination for me, however, judging by the brisk business in Calasparra´s Lottery Shop I form part of a small minority.
Firstly, it is important to know that as a non Spanish national you are entitled to play and to claim your prize. However, if you move or invest any prize money outside Spain you will face a hefty tax bill.
Secondly, there are a host of lottery scams about so if you want to play you are advised to buy tickets from the Lottery Shop or, for the ONCE, from certified kiosks.
There are different lotteries for practically every day of the week and special very popular “games” at Christmas. As we are fast approaching the festive season this article begins with an explanation of the Christmas Lotteries.
Tickets for El Gordo (literally the fat one) are sold in 10 parts (décimos) each of which cost 20 euros. As a complete ticket costs 200 euros most families and friends buy the tickets as a part of a syndicate. The draw is on December 22 and there are 2.142 million euros in prizes. The results are shown on Spanish Television Channel 3.
There is a smaller version, called the El Gordo de la Primitiva, which is drawn every Sunday. Tickets cost 1.50 euros and have no number displayed as punters can choose six of their own. To increase your chances of winning you can play as part of a “peña” (club) which offers 133 combinations for 5.95 euros.
The second big festive lottery is known as El Niño is drawn on January 6 and has prizes worth 700 million euros. This is an extraordinary draw of the National Lottery and the proceeds fund social projects.
As with El Gordo punters buy a “décimo,” a tenth of a ticket, with numbers from 00.000 through to 99.9999. Each of these numbers is divided into a 50 series and each of these lotteries is divided into “décimos” or tickets which may be purchased at the Lottery Shop.
The weekly lottery in Spain is called the Primitiva which is either drawn on Thursdays, Saturdays, or both days. You choose six numbers per ticket, which costs 1.17 euros if drawn on just one day, or for the numbers to be drawn on both days, the cost rises to 2.35 euros for a six-number ticket. Jackposts are around 66 million euros. The lottery may be played as part of a peña, or club, offering 182 combinations for 5.95 euros.
The proceeds of the National Lottery go towards social projects and the winnings are tax exempt. It is drawn on Thursdays and Saturdays. There is also a chance to get the price of your ticket refunded if the last number on your ticket is the same as the jackpot-winner.
A cheap version of the lottery is the Bonoloto which costs 59 cents a ticket and is drawn on Mondays, Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Fridays. You can either choose the day you would like your numbers to be drawn or opt for the same ticket to be pulled out of the hat on each day, at a cost of 2.37 euros. As with the Primitiva, you pick six numbers per ticket, and there is no limit to the number of tickets you can buy.
Winnings are roughly the same as for the Primitiva.
Euromillones is a lottery drawn every Tuesday and Friday with prizes of between 15 and 185 million euros.
The ONCE is a daily lottery in aid of the National Organisation for the Visually Impaired (Organización Nacional de Ciegos Españoles, or ONCE). These tickets are sold in kiosks or street sellers who are often disabled themselves. Tickets may be bought from Monday to Thursday or on Saturday and cost 1.50 euros, and Friday and Sunday when tickets cost two euros and the prizes are bigger. Additionally, the first Friday and Sunday of each month offers an increased jackpot, at a cost per ticket of 2.50 euros. There are five ready-printed numbers, and three in a series. If the last number of the five matches the winner, the prize is 2.50 euros. If they all match, including the three in the series, the prize is 300,000 euros. There are smaller prizes for other “matches.”
Apart from the ONCE all winning tickets are announced after the evening news on Canal 3, Spanish Television, in local Spanish newspapers or you can check with the Lottery Shop. For ONCE results ask at your local kiosk.
It is safer to buy tickets from the official Lottery Shops, however, if you want to purchase on the Internet there is only one official site www.loteriasyapuestas.es.
No legal Spanish lottery notifies winners in writing nor do they send messages inviting punters to join syndicates. If you receive one of these it is a fraud.
Finally there is the Quiniela, Spanish Football Pools, which can be played every weekend between September and June with a prize of one million euros. The rules are basically the same as the UK Football Pools and the coupon is completed in the identical manner (1 for home win, x for draw and 2 for away win). Each line cost 50 cents.
Lotteries are generally “just a bit of fun” for most punters who bet a small amount of money regularly or occasionally. However, readers are advised to buy tickets from official sources as fraudulent lottery scams are rife in Spain and recommended to never bet more money than they can realistically afford.
The proceeds of National Lotteries and ONCE are destined for social projects and charities.
