Complete Guide to the Spanish Lottery
If you have not yet tried the Spanish lotteries, or if you want to know which one best suits your needs, this guide will be ideal for you.
Spain is undoubtedly one of the countries with the longest lottery tradition in the world. Did you know that its first official lottery draw dates back to 1763? That's right: December 10, 1763 was the date of the first draw of the Real Lotería Primitiva, an earlier version of the Primitiva lottery that is still held weekly in Spain.
Currently, several national and international lotteries are held in Spain, such as Euromillions or Eurojackpot, in which it also participates. Its main lotteries are managed by the entity Loterías y Apuestas del Estado which, in total, organizes 9 lottery draws, in addition to other extraordinary draws such as the Christmas and El Niño lotteries.
Today we will talk a little about the main lotteries, making a comparison of the characteristics of each one so that you can choose the one that best suits you.
La Primitiva, the oldest lottery draw
As we said before, the Primitiva lottery dates back to 1763, so it can be considered the oldest lottery in Spain, but it has not stopped being one of the most popular! The Primitiva is still today one of the most played lotteries in Spain.
How to play: Each Primitiva ticket allows you to complete up to 8 single bets. Each bet is completed by selecting 6 numbers from 1 to 49. In addition, it is necessary to select 1 additional number per ticket between 1 and 9, known as the Reintegro, which is the same for all bets on the ticket. You must complete at least one bet per ticket.
How to win: To win the first prize, you need to match 6 numbers plus the Reintegro.
Prizes: La Primitiva has a total of 7 prizes. The first prize does not have a maximum value, so it accumulates after each draw. The largest Primitiva prize to date was 101 million euros.
Odds: The odds of winning the first prize are 1 in 139,838,160.
Draws: Primitiva draws are held every Monday, Thursday and Saturday at 21:40 Madrid time.
El Gordo, the big brother of La Primitiva
El Gordo de la Primitiva, known simply as El Gordo, is a draw that was created from the Primitiva lottery, but with the objective of offering bigger prizes than those distributed by the Primitiva, although adding a little more complexity.
How to play: Each Gordo ticket allows you to complete up to 6 simple bets. Each bet is completed by selecting 5 numbers from 1 to 59 plus 1 Key number between 0 and 9. You must complete at least one bet per ticket.
How to win: To win the first prize, it is necessary to match 5 numbers plus the Key number.
Prizes: El Gordo has a total of 8 prizes. The first prize does not have a maximum value, so it accumulates after each draw. The largest Gordo prize to date was 33 million euros.
Odds: The odds of winning the first prize are 1 in 31,625,100.
Draws: El Gordo draws are held every Sunday at 21:30 Madrid time.
Bonoloto, the cheapest lottery
If El Gordo is the big brother of the Primitiva, we can consider Bonoloto as its little brother. This lottery was created in the 80's in order to offer a cheaper and easier to win lottery.
How to play: Each Bonoloto ticket allows you to complete up to 8 single bets. Each bet is completed by selecting 6 numbers from 1 to 49. You must complete at least 2 bets per ticket.
How to win: To win the first prize, it is necessary to match 6 numbers.
Prizes: Bonoloto has a total of 6 prizes. The first prize does not have a maximum value, so it accumulates after each draw. The largest Bonoloto prize to date was 7 million euros.
Odds: The odds of winning the first prize are 1 in 13,983,816.
Draws: Bonoloto draws are held every weekday at 21:30 Madrid time.
National Lottery, the most traditional
Unlike the rest of the lotteries mentioned above, the national lottery is played from the purchase of tenths. What is this of the tenths? Very simple: each lottery ticket is divided into 10 tenths, so by buying 1 tenth, we will be buying a tenth part of the ticket and, therefore, we will be entitled to a tenth part of the prize.
How to play: Each National Lottery ticket is divided into 10 tenths. Each tenth is completed by selecting a figure of 5 numbers, which can be from 00000 to 99999. You will be able to buy from 1 to 10 tenths per ticket.
How to win: To win the first prize, it is necessary to match all 5 numbers of the tenth.
Prizes: The National Lottery distributes in each draw 6 categories of prizes. Each prize has a fixed value, which depends on the day of the draw: the first prize of the Thursday draw has a value of 30 thousand euros, while the first prize of the Saturday draw has a value of 60 thousand euros.
Odds: The odds of winning the first prize are 1 in 100,000.
Draws: The National Lottery draws are held every Thursday (at 21:00 Madrid time) and Saturday (at 13:00 Madrid time).
La Quiniela, for soccer lovers
La Quiniela is the ideal game for soccer fans, since it consists of predicting the outcome of 15 soccer matches.
How to play: Each Quiniela ticket allows you to complete up to 8 single bets. Each bet is completed by indicating the outcome of 14 soccer matches (between the options of local win, tie, or visitor win) plus the exact result in goals of the match number 15, known as Pleno al Quince, or Full 15. The Full 15 is the same for all bets on the ticket. You must complete at least 1 bet per ticket.
How to win: To win the first prize, you need to match the results of all 14 games plus the Pleno al 15.
Prizes: La Quiniela has a total of 6 prizes. The first prize does not have a maximum value, so it is accumulated after each draw. The largest Quiniela prize to date was €9 million.
Odds: The odds of winning the first prize are 1 in 76,527,504, although the greater knowledge of soccer also influences results.
Draws: La Quiniela draws are held once a week with the games of the round. Generally, bets can be purchased until Saturday at noon (Spanish time).