Spaniards queue to buy ticket for world’s richest lottery, El Gordo

With wide smiles, elated lottery winners popped corks on bottles of sparkling wine Tuesday in the southern beach city of Roquetas de Mar, where tickets bearing the top prize number in Spain’s Christmas lottery were sold.

It has been estimated that 75 per cent of adult Spaniards play the Christmas lottery and the state company which organises The Fat One reckons that this year each Spaniard will spend an average of €62.72 on tickets. El Gordo itself dates from 1812.

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. Then a tradition kicks in, with people who purchased winning tickets on their own or in groups showing up outside the lottery agency that sold them the tickets for gleeful fiestas. The winnings are distributed among a large number of men and women.

It comes just as the economy is recovering from the economic crisis and years of austerity, as well as a Spanish general election in Spain has left no political party with a clear majority.

Although a total $2.4 billion will be won at the annual lottery of El Gordo, it is so arranged so that no single individual will win the whole amount – Christmas is for sharing and so as many winners as possible will be allowed to win significant amounts.

Mayor Gabriel Amat told a local newspaper that he’s thrilled about the impact the massive lottery win will have on his town. It also offers several hundred ways to win, giving ticket buyers that much more to hang on to when they dream of winning to fat, top prize.

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.

“I feel a great joy, mainly because it’s so well spread out, especially among workers”, he said.