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The Spanish Christmas lottery ads
The famous Spanish Lottery that is officially known as “Sorteo Extraordinario de Navidad” is a unique pullout of the Lotería Nacional, and this weekly national lottery is managed via a state of Spain Estatal Loterías y Apuestas del Estado.
The amazing Christmas lottery draw in Spain comes round every 22nd December, when the El Gordo lottery draw, the greatest and most famous draw of the year, takes place.
El Gordo is a Spanish institution and is the the second oldest national lottery in the world. It was first held on 4th March 1812, making it the longest continuously operating lottery in the world, although during the Spanish Civil War (1936-39) the draws were held in Valencia after the arbiters were forced to relocate their assets from Madrid. Over the course of the last two centuries it has become a historic part of the national culture of Spain, and its nickname of "El Gordo" (The Fat One, after the size of the prizes) is now cemented in the vocabulary of the country.
Image source: Pixabay.
You must be wondering about the tickets, prizes, awards and much more: if so, grab a seat and stay with me while we discuss everything that you need to know about the El Gordo Christmas lottery ad.
This year, as is often the case, the TV adverts for El Gordo centre around families, friends, or colleagues who can't be together at Christmas. Every year the Spanish Christmas lottery delivers some of the year’s best ads, and a lot of people in Spain take part in the lottery, for which the draw is televised live on TV, purchasing or sharing tickets
TICKETING
According to Anapal, last year €2.9 billion was spent by the public on tickets. A full single ticket costs a huge 200€, but most people prefer to buy a 10th of a ticket (un décimo) for €20. You can easily buy the tickets online, as well as from local bars or restaurants or other social clubs and shops.
The most official outlets are the branches of Loterias y Apuestas del Estado, which are always decorated in blue and have distinctive signs outside.
Who can play the El Gordo Lottery?
Almost everyone can take part, including non-residents and foreigners. All winnings above €2,500 are subject to a 20% tax but despite this research shows that almost 75.9 percent of the 34 million Spanish homeowners aged between 18 and 75 play the Spanish Christmas lottery.
Some complicated rules provide for many buying of the same lottery number, but almost 70% of the money that is spent by people is distributed in prizes!
PRIZES
Now moving towards the prizes, the total prize money for 2020 was 2.4 billion euros. For a punter holding a whole series of the winning number the prize would be €4m, with €400,000 for holders renters of a décimo). The 2nd prize wins €125,000 per décimo and the 3rd €50,000. Then there are two 4th prizes (€20,000 per décimo), eight 5th prizes (€6,000 per décimo) and some 1,794 different prizes of €100 per decimo. In all, 172 million déecimos went on sale in 2020.
So actually, the real aim of the El Gordo TV ads is to bring everyone together, and Jesús Huerta, the president of the national lottery board, explains that El Gordo is "part of our Christmas" and "a culture which brings us hope in difficult times”. In the special context of the 2020 draw, Sr Huerta also appealed to the public to show more interest and solidarity than ever before. Of course, Covid-19 raised concerns over the actual process of making the draw and of groups of co-workers sharing tickets, but safety measures were put in place so that everyone involved was protected. In a campaign called #UnidosPorUnDécimo (“United by a Décimo”) there was a strapline inserted for each group's shared ticket number.
The TV ads themselves featured a series of 90-second videos, each showing its own story which refers to a bond between two characters strengthened through the sharing of a "décimo".
So, what are you waiting for? Make sure to grab a ticket and participate in the next Spanish Christmas lottery!