3 quarters of Spain played El Gordo Christmas lottery

Long lines formed Saturday as people hoped to buy a winning share in Spain’s Christmas lottery, known as El Gordo (the Fat One), which will hand out 2.24 billion euros ($2.43 billion).

The top prize is capped at 4 million euros ($4.36 million), which is split up among a number of winning tickets.

Second-prize winners included ticket-holders in Seville and Granada.

Every year millions of Spaniards club together with friends, family or co-workers to each buy fractions of the same ticket in the over 200-year-old lottery which, on winning numbers, pays out €400,000 (NZ$644,125) for every €20 (NZ$32) wagered. Lottery organizers said that can happen, since bettors don’t pick their own numbers.

Mayor Gabriel Amat told a local newspaper that he’s thrilled about the impact the massive lottery win will have on his town. On average, each person buying tickets will spend more than sixty Euros. “It’s very important for the town, especially in the hard times we’ve been facing”.

School children also featured hugely this year for the top winning ticket – with almost half bought from the Roquetas de Mar lottery agency by a high school in the nearby town of Laujar de Andarax, population of 1,600.

It is estimated that three-quarters of Spain’s 46 million people will take part in the draw on Tuesday.

The lottery was first established as a charity in 1763, during the reign of King Carlos III, but its objective gradually shifted toward filling state coffers.

The annual Christmas lottery dates back to 1812.

The drawing began shortly after 0800 GMT on Tuesday in a nationally televised event from Madrid’s Teatro Real opera house.

Spain’s yearly Christmas lottery, affectionately called “El Gordo”, is showering riches on a beach town that has fallen on hard times.

“Your odds of being an El Gordo victor are about 1 in 100,000 per ticket”, one lottery website states, noting that between 80 and 98 percent of Spanish citizens play the lottery in some fashion.