El Gordo

El Gordo, the “Fat One”, is Spain’s largest and most successful lottery draw to ever exist. In fact, Business Insider crowned El Gordo as the largest lottery in the entire world! Much of its massive success is thanks to the fact that it takes you back to simpler times but still maintains outrageously large jackpots. But that’s not all! El Gordo has 9 tantalizing prize divisions that await you along with outstanding odds of winning thanks to a smaller range of possible outcomes. Secure your ticket before the next draw to make sure you don’t miss out on massive jackpots that start at €5 million and can reach tens of millions of euro. Hurry!

El Gordo: Basic Information

Title	info
When	Every Sunday at 9:30 pm
Where	Spain
Minimum Jackpot	€5 million
Guessing Requirements	5/54
Prize Divisions	9
Biggest Jackpot Record	€33 Million

How to Play El Gordo

El Gordo is one of the easiest lotteries to play, which also helps it outperform many other lotteries in terms of your odds of winning. The rules are simple: Choose 5 numbers out of a pool of 54 and one additional number, called the “Reintegro” number, out of a pool of 9 possible numbers. The fact that the number pool is so small in both number categories makes El Gordo a fan favorite all over the world, giving you excellent odds of winning some of the largest prizes Europe has ever seen! Getting the Reintegro number correct will take you up one prize division, increasing your win by a tremendous margin and is the only way to win the top prize. But even if you don’t win the top prize, getting the Reintegro number right can at the very least get you a refund on your ticket!

Here’s what you need to know in order to play El Gordo:

Choose 5 out of 54 numbers
Choose a Reintegro number out of 9 possible numbers
Let the draw take place
Get notified by e-mail or SMS on every win

El Gordo Prize Divisions

El Gordo fuels your excitement and keeps it going with 9 special prize divisions. Each prize division has increasingly demanding requirements that will get you an even bigger prize as you move closer and closer to the top jackpot. Check out the table below to see how many numbers you’ll need to choose correctly in order to win the prize:

Division	Regular Balls	Reintegro
9	0	1
8	2	–
7	2	1
6	3	–
5	3	1
4	4	–
3	4	1
2	5	–
1	5	1

Prize Payout

We often talk so much about strategies and odds of winning and less about what happens when you win the jackpot. Much like other major lotteries around the world, you have more than one option when it comes to collecting your prize. You can go for either a lump sum, meaning a single, large transfer of funds or in annuities, which are smaller incremental payouts that are spread over a long period of time. Why would you even consider smaller regular payments instead of one big payment? Taking your prize as a lump sum will mean a significantly smaller total payout when compared to annuities, but the choice is always yours!

El Gordo: The Most Amazing Moments in History

El Gordo has a long and proud history that dates back to the early 1800s! The first draw took place in 1812 and the special Christmas draw was first introduced just 6 years later. These two traditions have lasted until today, with the Christmas draw becoming somewhat of a national holiday in Spain. An important thing to note about El Gordo is that its managed and operated by the Loterías y Apuestas del Estado, also known as the official Spanish agency in charge of the lottery. This means everything about El Gordo is regulated, fair and easy to understand. El Gordo’s massive success is also the engine behind its huge jackpots. Throughout the years, we’ve seen very impressive prizes given out to lucky winners from all over the world. Let’s have a look at the biggest El Gordo jackpots to date:

€33 million – Awarded in 2011

€27.2 million – Awarded in 2008

€26.2 million– Awarded in 2007

Important Tax Information

Taking a look at El Gordo’s tax requirements will make you wonder if its huge worldwide popularity is all thanks to how attractive its tax requirements are. Unlike many other lotteries, the tax you’ll pay here is simple to understand and more importantly, a lot smaller when compared to others. There are 2 tiers of tax. The first is tax-free on prizes of up to €20,000. The second is for any prize amount above €20,000 and requires a flat rate of 20%. This comfortable tax program is easier to understand and far lower than what most lotteries around the world offer!