Catalonia successful in Spanish lotto

Catalonia got lucky in the annual Christmas Spanish lotto, 'El Gordo', on Sunday, as the top number, 26590, awarded up to 388 million euros in the country.

Popular tourist destination Salou, on the southern coast, got the biggest share, some 360 million euros spread over hundreds of tickets.

Some of them were bought by an Aragonese club in Reus, a town nearby. As is customary with 'El Gordo', the association sold tickets for five euros each.

Each payout for this number grants the holder 20,000 euros, with a full ticket (20 euros) worth a prize of 400,000 euros.

Barcelona and Súria, in central Catalonia, also got lucky, as one lottery office in each city sold the 26590 number.

In fact, with the top number alone, the country has got back the 368 million euros its citizens spent on the Spanish lottery this year, 1.73% more than in 2018. This means that on average each citizen spent 48 euros on the lotto.

Catalan lotto

While Spain's Christmas lotto remains by far the most popular in Catalonia, due to its more than 200 years of history, in the past few years it has not been the only choice for trying one's luck at this time of the year.

The Catalan lotto ('La Grossa'), is held on New Year's Eve, and was created in 2014 by Catalonia’s pro-independence government with the aim of using part of the funds to pay for social programs.

According to Catalan Lotteries, ‘La Grossa’ players have 25% more chance to win a prize than those who play ‘El Gordo’.

However, as the tension over Catalonia’s push for independence has risen in recent years, settling on one of the two lotteries may no longer be a politically neutral decision.