Spain's Christmas lottery with coveted 'El Gordo' 72480 sold in La Rioja

Spain's most coveted Christmas lottery prize, 'El Gordo,' was the 72480, completely sold in Spain's La Rioja, Logroño.

The biggest prize in the raffle is 'The Fat One' in English. Each €20 ticket wins € 400,000, and all 193 series (of 10 decimos each) were sold in just one lottery administration.

This iconic lottery is so integrated into Catalans' Christmas traditions that people line up for hours at places believed to bring good luck, travel to other cities to buy tickets, and perform all sorts of quirky rituals in the hopes of winning. Some have even bought the same ticket for over a century with no luck.

But how does Spain's Christmas lottery work? It is one of the world's largest raffles, with a total prize pool of €2.7 billion and over 70% of Spaniards participating.

It is also the second longest-running lottery in the world. Since its inception in 1812, it has continued uninterrupted, even surviving the Spanish Civil War and the Covid-19 pandemic.

Catalonia among winners

While the 'El Gordo' was sold in La Rioja, some tickets for the second prize, the 40014, were sold in many cities, including Catalonia's Sant Boi de Llobregat with 5.8 series, one series in Barcelona, and one décimo in La Roca del Vallès.

In total, Catalonia saw €31,253,000 of the main prizes.

Catalan lottery players may have been lucky if they had bought the 11840, the third prize, which awards €50,000 per ticket. Most of the décimos were sold outside of Catalonia, but the lottery administration sold 200 décimos in northern Catalonia's La Pobla de Segur, and 45 décimos in La Garriga, just 40km north of Barcelona.

Many workers at the Blancafort Hotel in La Garriga were among the lucky winners of the third prize, winning €2.25 million. 

"A worker said we could look for the ticket numbered 1840, the year the hotel was founded, and that's what we decided to do," one of the lucky lottery buyers told the Catalan News Agency (ACN).

"I still cannot believe it," she said, surrounded by friends and family members who shouted with joy.

"I am very happy because not only have we won the prize, but many people have winning tickets, many people have tickets and many of them have bought winning numbers for their relatives," said Eva León, director of the hotel.

Barcelona, Alella and Montgat were also among the lucky cities that sold the 77768, one of the two fourth prizes. The lucky winners will receive €20,000 per décimo.

The second fourth prize, 48020, was mainly sold in Madrid, with over 160 series (1,600 décimos). Some series were sold in Sant Boi de Llobregat, El Prat de Llobregat, Blanes, and Sallent. 

About 20 minutes after the start of the lottery at 9 am, the students of San Ildefonso sang the number 37876 as the first big prize of the day. The first of the five prizes is a €6,000 décimo.

While most tickets were sold in Valencia and the Canary Islands, some lucky buyers in the northern city of Girona and the inland town of Sort also bought 37876.

The third-fifth prize, 74778, was sold in many places across Spain, mostly the Baque Country. However, some tickets were also sold in Catalonia in more than a dozen towns from the north to the south of the territory. One of the fifth prizes, 72853, was also sold all over Spain but not in Catalonia.

Barcelona residents could have been lucky if they bought the fourth-fifth prize, 45456, at 217 Riera Blanca Street. In total, this lottery office sold 380 tickets. In Catalonia, there were no lucky tickets for the fifth-fifth prize, 45225, the sixth-fifth prize, 97345, or the seventh-fifth prize, 75143. The last two were all sold in Madrid.

The last fifth prize, 60622, was sung at 1:22 pm, and 450 décimos (45 series) were sold in Barcelona.

Tickets can be redeemed from December 23 to March 24, 2025.

A bar and a family-owned lottery administration

A bar in Soriguera, a municipality in western Catalonia, Can Mariano de Baró had bought several series of the 11840 number with several regular customers among the ticket holders.

Bar owners were serving breakfast when the number was prized.

"Celebrations will have to wait," Maria Pilar Devissa, owner of the bar, told ACN, as many customers were still having breakfast.

Loteria Merche is a small family owned lottery administration in Girona currently managed by Carlos and Andreu, grandchildren of the first lottery seller. During their mother's management, she sold some awards for the Christmas lottery.

Years later, the two siblings sold tickets for the 37876, their first winning number ever. "It is very emotional," Carlos Voz told ACN on Sunday. In 2021, they sold some tickets for the 'El Niño' lottery's first prize but never a winning ticket for the December 22 drawing.

"We did not plan to open today, but we learned it was us when they called from the radio," Carlos and Andreu Voz said.

All the winning tickets of the 37876 were mainly sold in person "between different customers" at the Loteria Merche in Girona.

A second 'El Gordo' sang

During the draw, minutes after the 'El Gordo' was announced, one of the San Ildefonso school students sang a second time because "a boy asked me to do it," she said.

The 43226 was the second "El Gordo" to sing, although the winner was the 72480, which sang earlier in the morning at 11:27 am.

Over €423 million spent in Catalonia

The event takes place every December 22, and millions buy tickets beforehand. Only in Catalonia residents bought tickets worth €423,498,540, an increase of 3.64% compared to the last edition.

On average, each Catalan has spent €53.55, just below Spain's average of €73, where residents have spent €3,505,510,380.

In Barcelona, people spent €294,259,480, 3.62% more than last year; in Lleida, €48,449,520, 1.1% more than the last lottery. In Lleida, people have spent the most on average, €108.44 per person. In Tarragona, almost €44 million, with an increase of 4.93%, while in Girona, people have spent €36,921,080, an increase of 5.78%.

€2.7 billion prize pool

There are only 100,000 ticket numbers, ranging from 00000 to 99999, and each number is printed on 1,930 décimos.

A décimo, which means "a tenth of a ticket," is the most common ticket people buy, costing €20.

The total prize pool is €2.7 billion, divided into thousands of prizes. The top prize, the coveted El Gordo, awards €400,000 per décimo.

Beyond El Gordo, there are other prizes: 

• The second prize awards €125,000 per décimo.

• The third prize awards €50,000 per décimo.

• The fourth prize awards €20,000 per décimo but is given to two numbers.

• The fifth prize awards €6,000 per décimo and is given to eight numbers.

In addition to these major prizes, there are smaller prizes like the pedreas, which award €100 to nearly 2,000 numbers.

The smallest prize is the reintegro, a cashback prize where you receive your €20 back if your ticket’s last digit matches the last digit of the winning number.

PODCAST: Beating the odds

Catalan News' podcast Filling the Sink explores the history of this festive prize draw and discovers how it is celebrated.

We visit some of Barcelona’s most iconic ticket outlets to meet lottery vendors and discuss the odds of winning ‘El Gordo,’ as well as the controversy surrounding state taxation of winnings. We also chatted with some of the players about their lucky numbers and how they hope to beat the odds this year.

Listen below to the Christmas lottery episode of Filling the Sink.