Spain El Gordo, also known as El Gordo de la Primitiva, is a popular Spanish national lottery game.
Easy to play, with a rollover jackpot that often leads to big prizes, it’s an exciting game that is attracting a lot of international attention.
In this guide, we’ll explain how this game works and show how you can buy Spain El Gordo tickets online.
About Spain El Gordo Lottery
Launched in October 1993 as a monthly game, Spain El Gordo is operated by Loterias y Apuestas del Estado (LAE), the Spanish state lottery.
It was created after the success of LAE’s first two lotto games, La Primitiva and BonoLoto.
The name of the game translates to the fat one of the lottery, or the big one.
Spain El Gordo should not be confused with the annual Spanish Christmas lottery, El Gordo de Navidad, which is also referred to as El Gordo.
Spain El Gordo Draws
Spain El Gordo, once a monthly draw taking place on the last Sunday of every month, is now a weekly lotto game.
Draws take place every Sunday afternoon at 1:00 PM CET.
During each draw, a total of six balls are drawn from two separate drums.
How to Play Spain El Gordo
To play Spain El Gordo, players must select five numbers from a main pool ball of numbers 1 to 54.
They must also select a Reintegro, or Refund, number from a secondary pool ball of numbers 0 to 9.
Players must match all five main numbers and the Reintegro number to win the jackpot.
Up to 11 numbers can be selected per grid on a ballot, allowing players to make multiple bets on the same ticket, giving them more chances of winning.
Players cannot buy tickets on the day of the draw, meaning they can only purchase tickets Monday through Saturday.
One entry costs €1.50 when purchased within Spain.
Spain El Gordo Prizes and Odds
The Spain El Gordo jackpot starts at a minimum guarantee of €5 million, among the largest guaranteed jackpots in the world.
If there is no winner, 50% of the jackpot rolls over to the next draw, while the other 50% is shared among the winners of the lower tiers.
There are a total of nine prize tiers, with the top tier awarding the jackpot and the lowest tier awarding €1.50, the price of one entry.
The lowest tier only requires matching the Reintegro bonus number and no main numbers.
The odds of winning the jackpot are 1 in 31,625,100, much better than other online lotteries like EuroMillions. The latter has odds of 1 in 139,838,160 and is one of Spain El Gordo’s biggest competitors.
However, the odds are tougher than La Primitiva, which has odds of 1 in 13,983,816.
The overall odds of winning any prize are 1 in 6.16.
The odds of winning and the estimated winnings of each tier are as follows:
Numbers Matched | Odds of Winning | Estimated Winnings |
5 + Reintegro | 1 in 31,625,100 | Jackpot |
5 | 1 in 3,513,900 | €180,000 |
4 + Reintegro | 1 in 129,082 | €8,000 |
4 | 1 in 14,342 | €160 |
3 + Reintegro | 1 in 2,689 | €45 |
3 | 1 in 299 | €14 |
2 + Reintegro | 1 in 172 | €6 |
2 | 1 in 19 | €3 |
0 + Reintegro | 1 in 10 | €1.50 |
Claiming Spain El Gordo Prizes
Spain El Gordo players who are lucky enough to win a prize have up to 12 weeks from the draw date to claim their prize.
Players may have to pay taxes on their prize depending on how much they win.
Prizes under €40,000 are awarded without tax, while prizes exceeding €40,000 are subject to a 20% tax rate.
Individuals who do not live in Spain and who want to buy lotto tickets online for Spain El Gordo may be subject to the tax laws of their country of residence.
Notable Spain El Gordo Winners
Spain El Gordo jackpots often roll over, leading to some large jackpots. There have been many jackpots that have exceeded €30 million.
The largest jackpot win in the lottery’s history was €36,675,630, which was won in September 2010.
Spain El Gordo-Should You Play?
Spain El Gordo is easy to play, has decent odds of winning and offers one of the highest guaranteed jackpots in the world.
Though only 50% of the jackpot rolls over if there is no winner, jackpots are still able to climb into the tens of millions of euros quite frequently.
If you are a player looking to try something new, then this weekly Spanish national lotto game is a great option.
Cyntia