Spanish Lotería de Navidad 2024

Lotería de Navidad, or El Gordo de Navidad, is one of the largest and richest lotteries in the world, with a prize pool in excess of €2 billion. Officially called Sorteo Extraordinario de Navidad, this Spanish Christmas Lottery takes place on 22^nd December every year and generates huge appeal all around the planet.

There is a top prize of €4 million per winner if you buy a full ticket, but one of the main reasons for El Gordo’s popularity is that it brings prosperity to so many people. It is common for whole communities to win together if their numbers come up.

Find out more about how the El Gordo de Navidad lottery works in Spain and check the latest results to find out if you are a winner.

How to Play

To play El Gordo de Navidad, you just have to buy a ticket from your local retailer in Spain. Alternatively, you can take part online.

You don’t have to pick numbers as the Spanish Christmas Lottery is more of a raffle. You can buy a full ticket, known as a 'billete', or a tenth of a ticket, known as a 'decimo'.

Your ticket will display a five-digit combination between 00000 and 99999. There is one full ticket of each number in a series, but in El Gordo there are multiple series, sometimes as many as 180. This leads to the same number being printed on 180 tickets, or 1,800 decimos.

How the Draw Works

El Gordo de Navidad draws are held in Madrid on 22^nd December every year. It starts at 9:00am and takes hours to complete. Unlike other lotteries, whose draws are generally brief and completed with relatively little fanfare, El Gordo de Navidad has become a significant cultural event in Spain's annual calendar.

To add to the atmosphere and excitement, children from the San Ildefonso School in Madrid select the balls and sing the results.

The draw process involves two machines, called 'bombos', which each hold thousands of balls. One bombo contains balls inscribed with all the different number combinations, while the other bombo contains balls inscribed with a prize value.

One ball is selected from each machine simultaneously and the process continues until the prize bombo is empty.

To win one of the top prizes, you need to match the five-digit combination exactly. For example, if you match the first prize, which is known as El Gordo, you win €4 million if you have bought a full billete. If you’ve bought a decimo, the prize is €400,000. If there are 180 series, this means there would be 180 prizes of €4 million up for grabs.

As well as the five major prizes, thousands of ticket holders win €100 if they match any of the numbers drawn in La Pedrea, or ‘shower of prizes’, that are drawn throughout the day.

You can also win prizes by partially matching some of the winning codes. The table below shows a full El Gordo prize breakdown.

El Gordo de Navidad is followed by El Niño a couple of weeks later. The El Niño lottery is held on 6^th January and also gives away thousands of guaranteed prizes.