The Spanish Christmas Lottery ‘El Gordo’ is held annually on 22 December. It starts at 9.00 am and depending on the pace of the prizes fall, the lottery will end around 1.00 pm.
The venue for the draw is once again the Teatro Real in Madrid. And this year again with full audience, something that was not possible last year due to corona restrictions.
The doors of the venue will open an hour before the start: 8.00 am Spanish time.
This year, the total prize money amounts to €2.52 billion. The advertising campaign for this big lottery started back in November and the lottery is keeping Spaniards in its grip. The draw can be watched live on Spanish TV channel RTVE.es and other TV channels.
What are the most popular numbers in the Christmas lottery?
Many Spaniards are guided by superstition or the most important dates of the year when deciding on some number when buying their lottery tickets. Others, on the contrary, are guided by statistics. And although the odds are exactly the same, it appears that some numbers have been drawn more often than others in the past. This is according to data from the Sociedad Estatal de Loterías y Apuestas del Estado (Selae).
The star number, that won 32 times, is undoubtedly number 5. This is followed by numbers 4 and 6, with 27 wins each. On the number 8 the top prize fell 24 times. Whereas, on the 0 and the 7 22 times, and on 3 it was 21 times.
The least lucky end numbers in the Christmas lottery are the following numbers;
- 1 (8 times)
- 2 (13 times)
- 9 (16 times)
Outcomes 211 draws
Of the 211 draws held so far, the first prize (El Gordo) has been won as follows;
- 64 times by a number between zero and 10,000
- 74 times by a number between 10,001 and 30,000
- 74 times by a number between 30,001 and 99,999
It is worth noting that some combinations of numbers won more often, such as the number 15,640, which was the winning number in both 1956 and 1978. Furthermore, the number 20,297 fell in 1903 and 2006.
The most common winning two-digit combinations were 85, seven times; 57, six times, and 64, 65, 75 and 97 have won first prize five times each. Two-digit combinations that have won the jackpot on four different occasions are: 15, 95, 58, 40 and 90.
Less fortunate numbers
However, there are also numbers that are less fortunate in this festive draw and have not yet won a first prize. This applies to the thousands 27, 37, 39, 41, 44, 51, 64, from 67 to 70, from 73 to 75, 77 and from 80 to 99, 86 excepted. Also, first prize has not fallen in the ranges 09, 10, 21, 25, 31, 34, 41, 42, 43, 51, 54, 59, 67, 78 and 82.
