LOTTERIES IN SPAIN
I'm going to write about lotteries in Spain. While there are many online games
of skill or wit to make money from, I'm going to limit my output to plain and simple lotteries. These are:
of skill or wit to make money from, I'm going to limit my output to plain and simple lotteries. These are:
1. BonoLoto:
The first draw of BonoLoto was held on 28 February 1988. The aim
of the game was to provide frequent draws at affordable prices.
Reintegro (Reimbursement) was introduced to the game in 1991. Play
BonoLoto draws are on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday at 19:00 GMT in the official lottery draw studios of the Spanish national lottery operator, Loterías y Apuestas del Estado.Players have to match 6 numbers from 1-49. During the draw, a 7th, additional number is pulled, the so-called Complimentario (Complementary), which is used to create the 5+1 winning category. BonoLoto has a so-called Reintegro feature. Reintegro is randomly assigned to the ticket upon purchase, and if the ticket has zero hits with the main numbers, but the ticket matches the pulled Reintegro, the player is eligible for a refund of the ticket price. A single line of BonoLoto costs €0.50, and the minimum to play is €1.00, which can be achieved by playing 2 lines for the same draw, or by playing a single line for 2 draws.
Winnings
In BonoLoto 55% of the income is allocated to prizes. Jackpot starts at €400,000 and rolls over each time that the jackpot is not won. Prizes are paid in a single cash payment. The largest BonoLoto jackpot of €7,000,000 was won in 1990 by a single winner. Winnings over €2,500 are subject to a 20% government tax from 1 January 2013.Odds
| Division | Winning Numbers Required | Probability (Single Game) |
|---|
| 1st Prize | 6 | 1 in 13,983,816 |
| 2nd Division | 5 + Complementary | 1 in 103,769,105 |
| 3rd Division | 5 | 1 in 1,235,346 |
| 4th Division | 4 | 1 in 11,907 |
| 5th Division | 3 | 1 in 327 |
2. El Gordo de la Primitiva
El Gordo de la Primitiva (lit. the fat one of the primitive (lottery), can be translated as the big one), commonly known as El Gordo, is one of the Loterías y Apuestas del Estado (Spanish state lotteries).The largest prize given at the Spanish Christmas Lottery (and to a lesser extent at any other Spanish lottery), is also referred to as 'El Gordo'.
How it's played
Tickets consist of two grids, one with numbers from 1 to 54 and the second from 0 to 9. Players have to pick five numbers in the first grid and one in the second (key number). The key number also serves as return number.The tickets can be bought from Monday to Saturday in over eleven-thousand locations in Spain and cost €1.50 per grid.By selecting six to eleven numbers in the first grid you can make multiple (6 to 462) bets with the same ticket.
Drawing
Drawings are held every Sunday at 13:00 (GMT+1).Five numbers are drawn at random from 1-54, and then another one for the key number from 0-9. Prizes are awarded to tickets whose numbers match the drawn ones. First prize is for a perfect match (5+1), second for 5+0, third for 4+1, and so on until 2+0, totaling 8 prize categories. Tickets whose key number matches the drawn key number are entitled to a refund of the amount played. A ticket can hold more than one bet, but each bet cannot win more than one prize.
Prizes
From the total amount collected T, the state keeps 45%. 10% is reserved for returns (refunds), and 45% is distributed on prizes (22% for first category, and 33% for the rest of prizes).For all categories, the prize is shared in equal parts among all matching tickets.
First category has a guaranteed minimum amount of five million euros. In the case of no first category winners, 50% of the amount reserved for the first category (11% of T) is accumulated to the guaranteed (or previous) amount for the next drawing, often leading to huge bonus prizes (just for the first category).
The amount for the rest of prizes (33% of T) is then reduced by the number of tickets with 2+0 prizes (eighth category), each of which receive a fixed amount of 3 €. The resulting amount R is then distributed like this:
- 33% of R for second category (5+0)
- 6% of R for third category (4+1)
- 7% of R for fourth category (4+0)
- 8% of R for fifth category (3+1)
- 26% of R for sixth category (3+0)
- 20% of R for seventh category (2+1)
3. ONCE
Organización Nacional de Ciegos Españoles (ONCE) (Spanish pronunciation: [ˈonθe], National Organization of Spanish blind people) is a Spanish foundation founded on December 13, 1938 to raise funds to provide services for the blind and people with serious visual impairment.Although it is overseen by a board of patrons made up of representatives from various Spanish ministries, it does enjoy a certain amount of freedom of movement in the day-to-day running of its activities, and its general council is democratically elected from among its members.
As of September 2013, membership of the organization was 71,460 people, of whom 40% were over the age of 65.
Between them, the three pillars of the ONCE — the Directorate-General, the Foundation and CEOSA, ONCE's business corporation — employ over 136,000 staff, of whom 88.5% are people with disabilities.
In September 2013, coinciding with the organization's 75th anniversary, the ONCE was awarded Spain's Premio Príncipe de Asturias for Concord.
From 1989 to 2003, ONCE sponsored one of Spain's leading cycling teams.
Organization
While many of their activities overlap, there are, at least formally, three divisions of the ONCE:Directorate-General
The Directorate-General is responsible for the day-to-day running of the organization, its social and cultural work, and so on. Through its general council, it maintains institutional relations with local, regional and national government bodies, as well as representation on international bodies such as the World Blind Union, EBU and the IBSA (IBSA).ONCE Foundation
In 1988 ONCE established the ONCE foundation (Spanish: Fundación ONCE) to provide professional training and employment, to eliminate architectural, urban and communication barriers and promote "Digital Solidarity": web-based services for people with any disabilities. The Fundación also has its own business arm, Fundosa, with companies dealing with accessibility, industrial laundering, and so on.The Fundación is active in the Paralympic movement and is a founding partner of the European Network for Accessible Tourism (ENAT), an international organization set up in 2006 to promote accessible tourism.
The Fundación has attracted support from the Spanish royal family. In May 2010, Princess Letizia presented awards at a Fundación awareness-raising event. In March 2011, the Princess presented the Fundacion's DISCAPNET awards, celebrating innovation in accessibility.
ONCE Business Corporation
The ONCE Business Corporation (Spanish: Corporación Empresarial ONCE, CEOSA) is the business corporation of ONCE and owns, or is a stakeholder in, several companies across a wide range of sectors, including service companies, hotels and food companies. In the 1980s, and in order to diversify the risk of any future decrease in sales of the cupón, the managers of the ONCE started a policy of profit-oriented investment.One of its acquisitions was a sizeable participation in the Spanish private TV channel Telecinco and the radio network Onda Cero ("Airwave Zero", based on the ONda CEro acronym). The most visible effect was the Telecinco broadcast of the daily lottery draw, the Telecupón, presented by the popular retired actress Carmen Sevilla.
Critics pointed to the paradox of blind "upstarts" running one of the newly created commercial TV channels. There were also critics who claimed that it was a manoeuvre of the then-ruling party in government, the Spanish Socialist Workers Party (PSOE) to indirectly control the media in general.
Later management teams divested from Telecinco following a major judicial investigation into supposed tax dodges, etc., by the main shareholder, a company belonging to Silvio Berlusconi's Fininvest.
ONCE no longer has a stake in either of these media companies, although it does still run a media company, Servimedia, that is a news agency specialising in providing information on issues of social interest, such as disability, integration, corporate social responsibility, leisure, etc.
The Cupón
Although ONCE now has several gaming products available, their traditional product and one of the most visible aspects of ONCE is the charity lottery ticket known throughout Spain as the Cupón. Sales of this lottery product are the main source of income for ONCE and can carry huge tax-exempt cash prizes. The draw has different tickets for different days of the week, a special weekend ticket as well as special tickets with higher prizes, usually by season. The draw has for many years been broadcast live every night on Spanish TV channels, including Telecinco and Cuatro. It is currently (as of January 1, 2009) on the Spanish television channel CNN+.The basic graphic designs on the cupón stay the same on each day, but the theme changes to correspond to current events. For example, when the Euro became legal tender, or cultural references such as national or local monuments, etc. Collecting old issues of the cupón has thus become a hobby for many cupón buyers in Spain.
Cupón Diario
The ONCE periodically introduces new products onto the market and the information below regarding the prices and prizes of ONCE products may not be up-to-date.The Cupón Diario (daily cupón) is drawn daily (Monday to Friday) and costs 1,50 euro. Prizes are as 1,50€ prize for last or first numbers, 540,000 prizes.
How it works
Where to buy
ONCE lottery tickets are sold on the streets by authorised cupón sellers, as well as in ONCE kiosks. These are clearly identified by the word "ONCE" and can be found along the high street, at airports, and in shopping malls. These points of sales employ the blind or partially sighted, which is one of the main goals of ONCE, although by agreement with Fundación ONCE, over the last few years some have become available to persons with other disabilities.Like Spain's National Lottery agency, ONCE does not sell its lottery products over Internet, and both bodies continuously issue warnings to that effect, as there have recently been a series of scams involving international criminal organisations claiming to operate as authorised agencies of both lottery institutions. Major (tax-exempt) cash prizes are paid directly into bank accounts once the winner has established contact with the organisation through its delegations throughout Spain.
Likewise, to prevent attempts of fraudulent manipulation and counterfeiting, the cupón itself has a number of embedded security features of different kinds, such as optically variable devices, that are extremely difficult to reproduce. The cupón sellers, whether in the street or in kiosks, use electronic reading devices connected to the ONCE's database to check each winning number, as well as the authenticity of the cupón.
Sponsorship
From 1989 until the end of the 2003 season, ONCE sponsored one of the leading Spanish cycling teams. Whilst hugely successful in sporting terms and as a marketing vehicle, it was a costly project that was increasingly difficult to justify in terms of the ONCE's commitment to social integration of its members. Their former directeur sportif, Manolo Saiz, went on to form the Liberty Seguros-Würth team.Spanish Christmas Lottery
The Spanish Christmas Lottery (officially Sorteo Extraordinario de Navidad [soɾˈteo ekstɾaorðiˈnaɾjo ðe naβiˈðað] or simply Lotería de Navidad [loteˈɾia ðe naβiˈðað]) is a national lottery. It is organized every year since 1812 by a branch of the Spanish Public Administration, now called Loterías y Apuestas del Estado. The name Sorteo de Navidad was used for the first time in 1892.The Spanish Christmas lottery is the second longest continuously running lottery in the world. This includes the years during the Spanish Civil War when the lottery draw was held in Valencia after the Republicans were forced to relocate their capital from Madrid. After the overthrow of the Republican government the lottery continued uninterrupted under the Franco regime.
As measured by the total prize payout, the Spanish Christmas Lottery is considered the biggest lottery worldwide. In 2012, if all of the tickets would have been sold, the total amount payout of prizes would have been worth €2.52 billion (70% of ticket sales). The total amount of all prizes of the first category called El Gordo ("the big one") was €720 million which was distributed among 180 winning tickets (billetes) that win €4 million each.
For 2013 the number of series (see below) was changed from 180 to 160, and so the total amount payout of prizes would be worth €2.24 billion (still 70% of ticket sales).
Ticket numbers and prizes
The Spanish Christmas Lottery is based on tickets (billetes) which have 5-digit numbers, just like the regular drawing of the Spanish national lottery. Due to the enormous popularity of the game, each ticket is printed multiple times, in several so-called series. A unique 5-digit number is printed on each ticket and on the subsequent series of that ticket. For example, the ticket with the number 00001 is printed multiple times under different series numbers. Each ticket costs €200. Because this may be too expensive, the tickets are usually sold as tenths (called décimos). The price of a décimo is €20 and the payout is 10% of the published prize.Serie - Each billete is printed up many times as with different serie numbers. Billete - €200 each - An entire ticket of a 5-digit number, which consists of 10 décimos (tenths of a ticket). Décimo - €20 each - One tenth of a billete. Most people purchase décimos.
On a private basis, or through associations and other organizations, it is also possible to buy or be given even smaller portions of one ticket, called "participations". Many organizations buy tickets and divide them up and sell them as participations to their customers or employees. Usually, the price of those portions is incremented by a supplement that is paid as a donation to the intermediary organization. Participations are made by writing the number and the amount paid, and signing it as proof of participation. If the ticket is a winner, anyone holding a participation will be entitled to the corresponding amount, depending on the amount they paid.
Most Spanish people hold at least a small portion of a lottery ticket in the Christmas Lottery each year, even if they do not gamble during the rest of the year. This includes tickets exchanged with family and acquaintances, or participations sold by one's employer.
In 2013 there are 160 series of 100,000 billetes (from 00000 to 99999) at €200 each. If all of the tickets were sold, ticket sales would be €3.2 billion, and prize payout would be of €2.24 billion (70% of ticket sales). For a single serie the prize structure is the following:
| Quantity | Prize | Description | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | €4,000,000 | El Gordo (First Prize) | €4,000,000 |
| 1 | €1,250,000 | Second Prize | €1,250,000 |
| 1 | €500,000 | Third Prize | €500,000 |
| 2 | €200,000 | Fourth Prizes | €400,000 |
| 8 | €60,000 | Fifth Prizes | €480,000 |
| 1,794 | €1,000 | La Pedrea | €1,794,000 |
| 2 | €20,000 | For the two numbers before and after the First Prize (approximations) | €40,000 |
| 2 | €12,500 | For the two numbers before and after the Second Prize (approximations) | €25,000 |
| 2 | €9,600 | For the two numbers before and after the Third Prize (approximations) | €19,200 |
| 99 | €1,000 | For the 99 numbers with the same first three digits of the First Prize | €99,000 |
| 99 | €1,000 | For the 99 numbers with the same first three digits of the Second Prize | €99,000 |
| 99 | €1,000 | For the 99 numbers with the same first three digits of the Third Prize | €99,000 |
| 198 | €1,000 | For the 99 numbers with the same first three digits of each of the Fourth Prizes | €198,000 |
| 999 | €1,000 | For the 999 numbers with the same two last digits as the First Prize | €999,000 |
| 999 | €1,000 | For the 999 numbers with the same two last digits as the Second Prize | €999,000 |
| 999 | €1,000 | For the 999 numbers with the same two last digits as the Third Prize | €999,000 |
| 9,999 | €200 | For the 9,999 numbers with the same last digit as the First Prize (refund) | €1,999,800 |
| Total per serie | €14,000,000 | ||
| Total for the 160 series | €2,240,000,000 | ||
The exact quantity of tickets and series, and their prices, may be different each year. For example, in 2004, there were 66,000 different numbers in 195 series. In 2005, there were 85,000 numbers in 170 series, whereas in 2006 the number of series was increased to 180. Since 2011 the are 100,000 different numbers in 180 series. Distribution of prizes can change also, as in 2002 with the introduction of the Euro, or in 2011, when El Gordo increased from €3,000,000 to €4,000,000, the Second Prize increased from €1,000,000 to €1,250,000, the Fifth Prizes increased from €50,000 to €60,000, and 20 more pedreas of €1,000 were added. In 2013 the number of series has been reduced from 180 to 160 to adjust to the expected demand.
The draw
Since December 18, 1812, the Christmas Lottery drawings are held according to exactly the same procedure each year. In the past it took place in the Lotería Nacional hall of Madrid, while in 2010 and 2011 it was celebrated in the Palacio Municipal de Congresos de Madrid, and in 2012 in Teatro Real in Madrid. Pupils of the San Ildefonso school (formerly reserved for orphans of public servants) draw the numbers and corresponding prizes, singing the results aloud in front of the public. Until 1984 only boys from San Ildefonso participated in the drawing; that year Mónica Rodríguez became the first girl to sing the results, including a fourth prize of 25 million Spanish pesetas. It is a custom that the winners donate some of the money to the San Ildefonso school. The public attending the event may be dressed in lottery-related extravagant clothing and hats. The state-run Televisión Española and Radio Nacional de España, and other media outlets, broadcast the entire draw, which currently takes place on December 22 each year.Two spherical vessels are used. The big one contains 100,000 small wooden balls, each with a unique 5-digit number on it, from 00000 to 99999. The small vessel contains 1,807 small wooden balls, each one with a prize in Euros on it:
- 1 ball for the first prize, called el Gordo.
- 1 ball for the second prize.
- 1 ball for the third prize.
- 2 balls for the fourth prizes.
- 8 balls for the fifth prizes.
- 1,794 balls for the small prizes, called la Pedrea, literally "the pebble-avalanche" or "stoning".
As the drawing goes on, a single ball is extracted from each of the revolving spheres at the same time. One child sings the winning number, the other child sings the corresponding prize. This is repeated until all the prize-balls are connected to a number. Due to the sheer number of prizes, this procedure takes several hours. The children work in about eight to nine shifts, equal to the number of frames of numbers to be drawn.
The balls have holes on them so they would be slotted into wires in frames for later presentation. When a major prize is drawn, both children repeat their singing multiple times, and show the balls to a committee, and then to a fixed camera with two Phillips screwdriver heads mounted at the front, all before being inserted into a frame as the others. Although the drawing is by chance, the children who draw the higher prizes are applauded. Apart from the prizes drawn from the vessel, some prizes are calculated from the winning numbers (view the table with prizes above).
The two-vessels system was the traditional one in Spanish lottery, but now it is only used in the Christmas Lottery. The rest of the weekly and extraordinary draws during the year use five vessels with ten balls each (numbered 0 to 9), from where the five digits of the winning numbers are drawn.
The odds of just evening out the costs are of 10% (by matching the final digit), while chances of winning more money are about 5.3%. The prize structure makes it easier to win some money compared to other lotteries, and it is common saying that the prizes of the Christmas Lottery are well distributed all around Spain. Chances of winning El Gordo are 1 in 100,000, that is 0.001%, while chances of winning the top prize of EuroMillions are 1 in 116,531,800 or 0.0000000086%.
Non-winners will make the commonplace comment that "it's health that really matters". Those who just get their money back will often re-invest the prize in a ticket for Sorteo de El Niño, the second most important draw, held before the feast of Epiphany of Jesus on January 6.
El Gordo
The climax of the drawing is the moment when El Gordo is drawn. Lottery outlets usually only sell tickets for one or two numbers, so the winners of the largest prizes often live in the same town or area or work for the same company. In 2011, El Gordo was sold entirely in Grañén, Huesca, a town with about 2,000 people. In 2010, €414 million from the first prize were sold in Barcelona, and the rest of the €585 million of El Gordo was distributed between Madrid, Tenerife, Alicante, Palencia, Zaragoza, Cáceres, and Guipúzcoa. In 2006, the winning number was sold in eight different lottery outlets across Spain, while the second prize number (€100,000 per décimo) was only ever sold from a kiosk on the Puerta del Sol in central Madrid. In 2005, the winning number was sold in the town of Vic in Catalonia (population 37,825), whose inhabitants shared about €500 million (€300,000 per winning décimo).As a misconception in many non-Spanish speaking countries, it is often assumed that the term El Gordo is specific for the Christmas Lottery; some even think that El Gordo is in fact the name of the lottery. However, the real meaning of El Gordo is simply "the first prize" (literally "the fat one" or more accurately "the big one"); other lotteries have their Gordo as well. To add to the confusion, there is a relatively new weekly Spanish lottery game called El Gordo de la Primitiva, which has nothing in common with the Christmas lottery, except the fact that it is organized by the Spanish public lottery entity Loterías y Apuestas del Estado.
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