There are only a few days left until one of the most famous lottery draws in the world takes place: the Spanish Christmas Lottery draw, also known as El Gordo de Navidad, which for many Spaniards marks the beginning of the Christmas holidays.
It is an event so deeply rooted in Spain that the annual television commercial for the Christmas lottery draw has become so traditional and arouses almost as much excitement for Spaniards as the draw itself.
The Christmas Lottery draw is not the one that awards the biggest prizes, but the one that distributes the most money among hundreds of winners. This year, 2.4 billion euros will be distributed.
According to a press release issued by the national Lottery operator (Loterias y Apuestas del Estado), in this year's Christmas draw a total of 172 million lottery tickets have been put up for sale. Therefore, the issue reaches 3,440 million euros, of which 70% will be allocated to prizes..
In other words, on 22 December the Christmas Lottery draw will distribute 2,408 million euros in prizes.
Among the prizes distributed by the Christmas Lottery draw, the most anticipated prize on the morning of 22 December is El Gordo de Navidad.
Each holder of a first prize winning ticket will receive 400,000 euros.
20 euros to play
The winners of the second prize will receive 125,000 euros for each ticket. Those who win the third prize will receive 50,000 euros for each ticket.
Playing the Christmas lottery draw is still cheap: the ticket price remains at 20 euros.
Tickets for the Christmas Lottery draw can be purchased in the shops of the state operator Loterias y Apuestas del Estado or through its internet website.
For the first time, this year prizes of up to two thousand euros can also be collected through Bizum.
