LotteryThe Spanish are the biggest gamblers in Europe (as anyone who has driven here will know) and particularly popular are the various lotteries on which one can have a flutter. Here is some information about the different lotteries; how they work, how, where and when to play, etc. Good luck, and don't forget, if you have a big win, Manilva Life is always looking for investors!
ONCE - El Cupon
The Organizacion Nacional de Ciegos Espanoles (National Organisation for the Spanish Blind) was set up at the end of the Civil War as a way for the many blind Spaniards to earn a living for themselves, it was eventually extended to include people with other disabilities, 23,000 who still sell the coupons to this day. El Cupon accounts for 11% of the Spanish gaming market
Tickets can be purchased from ONCE kiosks, or from the street vendors, some of whom have the coupons clipped to their jackets. There are draws daily from Monday to Friday and Sundays. Tickets are printed with a five-figure number and a series number. All prizes are fixed amounts.
The draw takes place live on Spanish television Monday to Friday on Antenna 3 at 21:45h. The Monday-Thursday Cupon Diario draw costs €1.5 per ticket and the prizes are as follows: 1 x €300,000 for matching the 5-figure number and the series number.
59 x €33,000 for matching the 5-figure number only.
540 x €150 for matching the last four figures.
5400 x €15 for matching the last 3 figures.
54,000 x €5 for matching the last 2 figures.
540,000 x €1.5 money back (reintegro) for matching the first or last figure. The Friday Cuponazo draw costs €2.5 per ticket with prizes as follows: 1 x €600,000 for matching the 5-figure number and the series number.
119 x €35,000 for matching the 5-figure number only.
1,080 x €600 for matching the last four figures.
10,800 x €60 for matching the last 3 figures.
108,000 x €6 for matching the last 2 figures.
1,080,000 x €2.5 money back (reintegro) for matching the last figure. The Sunday Supercupon Fin de Semana draw costs €2 per ticket and the prizes are: 1 x €100,000 per year for next 25 years for matching the 5-figure number and the series number.
49 x €30,000 for matching the 5-figure number only.
450 x €300 for matching the last four figures.
4,500 x €30 for matching the last 3 figures.
45,000 x €5 for matching the last 2 figures.
450,000 x €2 money back (reintegro) for matching the last figure. LOTERIA NACIONAL - National Lottery
The National Lottery has been held in Spain since 1812 and was once seen as the only way the Government could extract revenues from the population.
Sold in most state lottery offices Loterias y Apuestas Estados, but not all, the draws are on a Thursday and a Saturday. The Thursday ticket costs €3, the Saturday ticket costs between €6 and €22, with a corresponding increase in prize money. The tickets have a 5 figure number (similar to ONCE), and you win in a similar fashion to the ONCE draw. There are also extra draws of 2, 3, and 4 numbers, and you can also win if your ticket is in the same '100' as the winning ticket.
Most foreigners' exposure to the Loteria Nacional are the massive Christmas draws El Gordo (The Fat One) and El Niño (The Boy Child). El Gordo is the world's biggest lottery with the 2003 prize money exceeding 1 billion euros! You buy a tenth of a ticket Decimo which costs between 20 and 22 euros (commission is normal) and these are on sale in various bars, clubs, even the schools indulge. The draw is held on the morning of the 23rd of December and is televised on most channels with the numbers being sung out in Gregorian plainchant by children from the San Ildefonso school for the blind.
El Niño is drawn on the 5th January and though not on the same scale as El Gordo it is still a huge lottery by other country's standards. LA PRIMITIVA
Anyone who plays the UK National Lottery will instantly recognise La Primitiva because it was the model for the UK lottery the only difference being there is an extra number drawn, apart from the 6 numbers plus complementary number, this is the free draw Reintegro which basically gives you your stake money back for that day's draw. La Primitiva is held on a Thursday and a Saturday tickets can be purchased at any office of the State Lottery. You can buy a ticket for either lottery or one ticket for both lotteries - single form 126 or double form 117. Just put 6 crosses in each of as many panels as you wish (8 per form). Cost is €1 euro per panel. The draw takes place at 21.30 and tickets can be purchased up to a few minutes beforehand - bear in mind though that the Lottery offices are normally closed on a Saturday afternoon!
Prizes are awarded for matching all 6 numbers; 5 numbers and the complementary; 5 numbers; 4 numbers; 3 numbers; Reintegro. Payouts vary except for 3 numbers (€8) and the reintegro (€1). There is also a Sunday draw - El Gordo de la Primitiva - which is identical to the Thursday and Saturday except that the stake €1.5 euros with correspondingly higher payouts. There is also a rollover system Bote on all Primitiva draws in which prize money that is not won goes on to subsequent draws. Tickets for the Primitiva can be bought up to 21:00h on the days they are drawn, but bear in mind most lottery outlets are only open until 14:00h on a Saturday. BONO LOTO
Identical to the Primitiva and is drawn on Mondays, Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Fridays. Tickets cost €0.50 and tickets can be bought daily with form 333 or for 2, 3 or 4 days with form 324. EUROMILLONES
This operates in exactly the same manner as it does in the UK. LUCKY DIPS
Lucky dips can be purchased for La Primitiva, El Gordo de la Primitiva, and Bono Loto. Just ask for automatica. The ONCE kiosk in Sabinillas is in Avenida Manilva near the Farmacia, and the new Lottery office is on Calle Miguel Delibes opposite Tarik's Cyber Bar. |
