Spanish Christmas Lottery (Lotería de Navidad) 

Learn About the World’s Largest Raffle Jackpot

The Spanish Christmas Lottery is an annual national raffle also known locally as the El Gordo de Navidad. This Spanish raffle started just over 200 years ago in 1812 and takes place every year during the Christmas season, hence its name. The raffle is considered the world’s biggest lottery and in 2023 it awarded €2.702 billion in prizes with attractive winning odds starting at 1:10 for a prize. More than 26 million shares are expected to win!

When Did the Spanish Christmas Lottery Start?

The Spanish raffle, officially Sorteo Extraordinario de Navidad, held its first draw in Cadiz on 18 December 1812. Draws first took place in Madrid in 1814. The name Sorteo de Navidad has been in use since 1892. The raffle continued without interruption during the years of the Spanish Civil War, but the draws took place in Valencia. In the past, drawings took place in the Lotería Nacional hall in Madrid. In the years 2010 and 2011, drawings were held at the Palacio Municipal de Congresos de Madrid, and since 2012 they have taken place in Madrid’s Teatro Real.

The Spanish Christmas El Gordo Lottery numbers are drawn in a special way, much different than any other lottery in the world: students from the San Ildefonso School draw the results and sing them aloud to the public at the Teatro Real of Madrid!

Before being broadcast on television, the Spanish Christmas Raffle was followed on live radio and results could only be viewed in the cinema. Live television broadcasts of the draw started at the end of 1962. Since then, this annual television event is religiously watched across Spain and marks the unofficial start of Christmas for Spanish citizens. Fun fact: It was not until 1984 that the girls from the San Ildefonso school began to lend their voices in to the Lotería de Navidad draw, as it was previously presented exclusively by boys.

On 22 December, 2002, the first Spanish Christmas Raffle draw awarding euros took place, and subsequently, the word "pesetas" disappeared from the broadcast. The smaller prize amounts resulted in a draw that was around 10 minutes shorter than previous raffle draws.

The Spanish Christmas Raffle made history in 2020 for being the first draw in over 200 years where the general public was not present due to the restrictions imposed to deal with the Covid-19 pandemic.

How Does the Spanish Christmas Lottery Work?

The Spanish Christmas Lottery prints 100,000 tickets (billetes) with five-digit codes ranging from 00000-99999. Due to the game’s popularity, each ticket is printed in 193 copies. The ticket is divided into 10 shares called ‘décimos’ which can be purchased individually. This formula explains the huge amount of shares on the market for this year’s December 22nd draw:

100,000 tickets * 193 copies * 10 shares = 193 million shares

The distribution of prizes, quantity of tickets and shares, and their prices may vary from year to year. In 2004, there were 66,000 different five-digit numbered tickets in 195 copies. In 2005, the number of tickets for sale was 85,000 which were offered in 170 copies. In 2011, there were 99,000 tickets printed in 160 copies. 

Need more info on raffles? Watch this video to learn more about how raffles work.

How Much Can You Win in the Spanish Christmas Lottery?

Sorteo Extraordinario de Navidad has the world's largest prize pool of €2.702 billion. The highest prize available in this raffle draw is €4 million, with an amazing 1:100,000 chances of winning this top prize. A player owning all ten shares of a 1st prize winning ticket is eligible to claim the €4 million jackpot prize. Lotería de Navidad will award a total of €772 million in jackpot prizes to the 193 tickets with the winning raffle code.

Overall, prizes will be awarded to 15,304 tickets in every series, which means that 1 in every 10 tickets wins a cash prize!

About 98% of all Spanish adults take part in the Spanish Christmas El Gordo Lottery celebrations, even if they usually do not participate in local or global lotteries. It is expected that more than 26 million share holders will collect prizes from the 15,304 possible winning combinations in every draw.

The amount of tickets available at theLotter for this raffle will be limited as the draw gets closer, so guarantee your participation as soon as possible! Look at the amazing prizes you could win!

Loteria de Navidad Prize Breakdown

The Spanish Christmas Lottery is just one of the raffles available at theLotter. See our Spanish Raffles Guide for full information.