El Gordo

Spain’s El Gordo lottery is one of Europe’s biggest and most popular games. This is due to some generous odds but largely due its guaranteed minimum jackpot of €5 million (approx. $7.5 million) which is one of the biggest starting jackpots of any lottery across the world, plus it rolls over until it’s won. It’s no wonder that el gordo lotto literally means “the big one” in Spanish. A regular multi-millionaire maker, El Gordo’s awarded its record jackpot payout of €33 million (approx. $47 million) in 2011. Draws take place every Sunday afternoon…. what better way to kick off a new week than as a new multi-millionaire!

How to Play

For El Gordo, numbers are drawn from 2 machines. Firstly, a machine contains 54 balls numbered from 1 to 54 of which five balls are drawn. Another machine contains 9 ‘Reintegro’ balls numbered from 1 to 9 of which one ball is drawn. In a standard game, players choose five numbers from the first range of 1 to 54 and one ‘Reintegro’ ball number from the second range of 1 to 9. To win the jackpot, a player must correctly guess all five main numbers as well as the ‘Reintegro’ ball.

Taxes

Prizes up to €2,500 are tax free, and prizes over €2,500 are subject to a tax rate of 20%. However, citizens of countries other than Spain are entitled to claim a full tax refund.

Odds of Winning

Odds of winning a prize are 1 in 10, and the odds of winning the jackpot are 1 in 31,625,100.

You can play El Gordo at www.thelotter.com or www.playhugelottos.com