How to Bet On the Spanish Christmas Lottery

Due to legislation coming into effect in 2019, we can no longer offer lottery betting and as such some content may no longer be relevant.

The name “El Gordo” might sound familiar to you as its huge jackpots make headlines every year, comes Christmas time. It is simply the world’s biggest and most traditional lottery, and it was about time Australians had the chance to take part on the billions of dollars this lottery distributes every year. 

“What’s so special about the Spanish Christmas Lottery?”, you might wonder. Not only it has the biggest lottery jackpot in the world – an incredible $3.2 BILLION this year! – but it also awards tens of thousands of people every year with different cash prizes. 

1. What Is El Gordo?

El Gordo is the common name given to Spain's annual Christmas lottery. The lottery has been running since 1812, so not only is it the biggest lottery in the world, it's also one of the world's oldest. El Gordo therefore differs from contemporary lottos in gameplay. It's a one-off event with no rollovers and tickets come with numbers pre-printed. So think of it as like a really big Christmas raffle – albeit one that pays out $3 billion in prizes!

2. How can I bet on El Gordo in Australia?

Because you must be a resident of Spain to participate in the official lottery, the simplest and most secure way try your luck in El Gordo is to bet on the results online with Lottoland. Basically you make your bets exactly as you would, and you stand to win the exact same prize value – the only difference is we pay out the prizes directly. (What Is Lotto Betting?)

3. How Does El Gordo Work?

The idea behind the Spanish Christmas lottery is to spread as much wealth around as possible. Tickets are sold with different ticket numbers, each ticket number consists of five digits. Tickets are also printed in series of 165. So say you have a ticket number 12345, there would also be up to 164 other people with the exact same ticket as you – and potentially you could all win a big prize.

Official El Gordo Navidad Commercial

4. How Much Does a Bet for the Christmas Lottery Cost?

At Lottoland you can select which bet number you want, and decide if you wish to buy a full bet or not. A full bet costs $349.99, but generally in Spain people pool their money to buy 1/10 tickets, called decimos. Again the idea being to share your winnings with your friends, family and neighbours. One tenth Decimos are available at Lottoland for for $49.99. We also offer even smaller portions, 1/100th of a bet, for $6.99. A small price to pay this Christmas for the chance to win big on El Gordo!

5. How Much Can I Win?

The top "El Gordo" prize is worth €4 million, or approx. $6 million. Unlike big lottos like EuroMillions, however, where the prizes are huge but the odds against you are in the high millions, your chance of hitting El Gordo is just 1:100,000!

There are 17 different ways to win in total, and overall you have a one in ten chance of winning a prize. One lucky Lottoland winner won the El Gordo jackpot in 2015 - check out his story and how he won €4 million (approx. $6 million) betting on the Christmas Jackpot.

6. What Does El Gordo Actually Mean?

In Spanish the phrase El Gordo means "the fat", in the case of lotteries that means the big fat prize – i.e. the jackpot. Generally speaking, though, when Spaniards talk about winning "El Gordo" they're referring to the Christmas Lottery, since it has the biggest jackpots of all.