The Spanish Yuletide Lottery, recognized as the “Lotería de Navidad,” will be distributing a record €2.41 billion in awards this year. The lottery, run by the National Lottery and Wagering Company (SELAE), will be drawn on December 22nd.
This year, there are 172 million tickets available for purchase, separated into 172 sets, each with 100,000 ticket numbers. Each ticket is sold in tenths, with each tenth costing €20. This implies that the overall sales will reach €3.44 billion, with 70% of that sum going towards prizes.
The top prize, known as “El Gordo,” is worth €400,000 per tenth of a ticket, while the second prize is worth €125,000 and the third prize is worth €50,000 per tenth. The awards are paid out to the holders of the matching tickets in each of the 172 sets for each winning combination. This indicates that the top prize, “El Gordo,” could pay out €688 million across all sets.
SELAE President Juan Almendro stated, “Although this Christmas will be different, some elements and customs will never change. One of them is our Christmas Lottery. It’s one of our most deeply ingrained traditions, which has accompanied us for generations, for over two centuries, and has provided us with much-needed hope in these challenging times.”
He highlighted that SELAE is a non-profit organization that gives back its earnings to Spanish society. “We are not unfamiliar with the environment we are in, as it impacts our daily lives. Therefore, we are very clear that we must restate the shared values of Loterías with citizens. Thus, this year’s event focuses on the positive aspects that must be learned from challenging times.”
The lottery’s advertising campaign starts today and will be aired in the media over the coming weeks, with the theme “Sharing as always, sharing like never before.”
SELAE also declared that the lottery draw will be conducted with the most stringent health and safety precautions in its history, and unlike in previous years, it will not be open to the public.
The operator stated that it has been working for months with the Royal Theatre of Madrid (where the draw takes place) and the San Ildefonso School (where students participate in the draw every year) to develop a health and safety protocol to safeguard the children involved, lottery workers, and the media.
Measures agreed upon by the organization include the mandatory use of face coverings for all those present, with only the children announcing the winning numbers allowed to remove their masks, and they will maintain a two-meter physical distance.
A barrier will also be set up to protect lottery workers, and the platform, which usually accommodates five individuals, will be reduced to four to ensure physical distancing.
The lottery draw will be conducted without any observers, with the number of reporters permitted to attend reduced by half.
Spain’s gaming income has experienced a significant decline this year. From January to October, overall gaming revenue decreased by 50% compared to the previous year. The government-owned lottery organizations, SELAE and ONCE, generated only €1.9 billion in revenue, representing a 58.6% reduction from the €4.59 billion they earned in 2019.
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