El Gordo, officially Spain’s Christmas Lottery (Lotería de Navidad), is held once a year on 22 December and is known for its very large overall prize pool rather than a single massive jackpot. The 2025 draw will take place in Madrid on Monday, 22 December 2025. Ticket sales will run for several months in advance through official lottery outlets and authorised distributors across Spain and selected online channels.
Don’t Miss the El Gordo de Navidad with a prize pool of € 2.772 billion!
El Gordo tickets are on sale now!!
Play the Lotería de Navidad, the world’s biggest lottery raffle on December 22nd 2025, and enjoy 1 in 100,000 chances of winning the jackpot prize! So buy them in time lotteries in Spain.
How the Lottery Works
El Gordo uses a five-digit number format:
- Numbers range from 00000 to 99999, giving 100,000 different numbers.
- Each number is printed in multiple series (for example, Series 1 to Series N), so the same number can win several times, once per series.
- Each series is divided into 10 décimos, which together form one full billete.
Key points:
- Players do not choose individual digits; they buy a pre-printed number, such as 73145, usually with a specific series.
- A full ticket (billete) costs €200 and consists of 10 décimos.
- A décimo costs €20 and represents 10% of all prizes associated with that ticket.
- Many people buy décimos or even smaller shared participations through clubs, workplaces, bars, or charities.
Facst El Gordo 2025
- Ticket price: €200 per full ticket (billete), €20 per tenth (décimo)
- Total prize pool (estimate): Typically around €2.5–€2.7 billion in prizes, depending on official issuance
- Odds of El Gordo (top prize per number): 1 in 100,000 (numbers 00000–99999)
- Operator: SELAE – Sociedad Estatal Loterías y Apuestas del Estado (Spanish state lottery)
- Results page: Full winning numbers and prize tiers at /el-gordo/results
- Rule changes for 2025: No major format or draw changes announced; structure and taxation follow recent years’ model
The “El Gordo” lottery is held annually on 22 December and is an important part of the Spanish Christmas tradition. The draw lasts several hours and is televised. “El Gordo” is known for its huge prize pool. The total prize pool is often in the billions of euros, and the jackpot, known as “El Gordo,” is one of the biggest in the world.
Spanish lottery tradition with family
Christmas is the most beautiful time of the year, and efinitely in Spain. In this beautiful country it has been the most popular lottery for many decades. It’s actually one of the greatest traditions in Spain. Millions of peopleb love to play it with their family an friends. A lottery win would mean a great beginning of the year!
When is the draw of El Gordo
El Gordo draw 22 december 2025. Buy on time your tickets becasue there is a limit for this lottery draw.
Every year, El Gordo takes place at December 22. The day before the number of bowls and prizes are being thoroughly counted and recounted. Some assistants also check the balls, so that everything is in order for the next day. The actual draw takes place in a saloon. In the days before the draw this place is tightly secured with interior latches. So almost no one has access to the saloon. It opens the next day at 8.00 and is filled with people. The draw is shown on national television and is a very exciting moment for millions of people. The balls are transported in a technical way by the so called ‘tolva’.
During the draw, the numbers of the balls are shown by a child from the St. Ildefonso’s School. Then, the bowls are closed again and turned over. Interestingly enough two children make clear which numbers are being drawn by signing them!
The balls are inserted in the wires, which are joined in a table. Eventually hundreds of balls of each type will be treated this way. The table is properly closed and under the watchful eye of the president and the auditor. ElGordo is over when there are no balls in the prize bowl left.
What means El Gordo?
ElGordo means ‘The Fat One’ in Spanish for a reason. It has the biggest number of prized tickets in the entire world, namely 15.304. So people can win more prizes than in any draw of the world! No surprise, if you realize that 70 percent of the total revenue is given to prizes. The lottery is in the hands of the Spanish government, which means that it’s organized in all of Spain. There is a very good organization behind El Gordo . For example, you’re ensured of an immediate pay when you’ve won.
FAQ – Spanish El Gordo in 2025
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On December 22, the Extraordinary Christmas Giveaway will distribute a total of 2,408 million euros in prizes, exactly 28 million more than the previous year, so those who win the ‘Gordo’ will receive 400,000 euros until the tenth, with 640 million euros. euros to be divided with this main prize.In total, the lottery will distribute 24.4 million prizes. For that day, 160 series of 100,000 tickets each were issued, with an issue of 3,200 million euros, 70 percent of which were prizes. The second prize is 1.25 million euros and the third 500,000 euros. In addition, there are two fourth prizes of 200,000 euros and eight fifths of 60,000 euros.
If the price is equal to or greater than 2,500 euros, it will be collected from one of the SELAE authorized financial entities. With regard to entries, Loterías y Apuestas del Estado has emphasized that, if you are the holder of a winning number entry, the lucky ones should contact the issuer of that entry to continue collecting prizes.
The answer is yes. Prices of less than 20,000 euros are exempt from tax. Profits made with that amount are taxed at 20%.