ElGordo de la Primitiva is generally referred to as The Fat one in English. It is the weekly draw of the Spanish National lottery. This popular lotto game is run by Loterías y Apuestas del Estado, which is the only official issuer of lottery licenses in Spain.
Loterías y Apuestas del Estado was established in 1985, and tasked with the effective management of not only the lotteries themselves, but also any disputes that may arise involving El Gordo lottery.
How do I play the Spanish El Gordo Lottery?
ElGordo de la Primitiva offers a guaranteed minimum prize and has reached jackpots of more than 22 million euros. In order to play, customers must select 5 numbers from a primary ballset (from 1 to 54) and 1 number from a second ballset (0 to 9), called the “key number”. To win the jackpot you must correctly match all 5 numbers from the first ballset and the extra-number from the second. Additional prize tiers are available, with secondary prize values being generated according to the sales volumes for the week preceding the draw. Each entry has a 1 in 19 chance of winning a prize.
ElGordo coupons are sold through retail outlets across Spain, but it is important to note that tickets cannot be purchased on a Sunday, meaning that our cut-off time for El Gordo tickets is 13:00 GMT on the Saturday before the draw, in order to allow our purchasers enough time to ensure all entries are purchased.
The ElGordo Christmas superdraw
There are variations to the ElGordo lottery, and the name is also used in reference to the Spanish Christmas Lottery (El Gordo de Navidad).
The xmas ElGordo lottery differs from other lotteries. Most lotteries draw 5 or 6 balls and these make up the combination of winning numbers. When it comes to the Spanish Lottery Superdraw, there are also balls involved but each has a 5 digit number printed on it. The numbers range from 00,000 to 99,999 (except in ElGordo there the numbers range from 00,000 to 84,999) and are therefore limited – Once these sell out there are no more made available.
You buy the lottery tickets either as a whole serie or as a ‘décimo’, which is more common and less expensive as that is 1/10 of a ticket.
When the time of the draw comes around, first a ball with the winning number is drawn and then another one which displays the amount won. 70% of the money entered into the Spanish Superdraw Lottery is paid out as prize money!
