The Lottery in Spain
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By m.p. - Dec 2, 2007 - 12:23 PM
There are many lotteries in Spain, with the state run National Lottery dating back nearly 250 years

The history of state-controlled lottery in Spain goes back almost 250 years, to the first version of the Lotería Primitiva which was introduced during the reign of Carlos III by the Minister for Tax, the Marqués of Esquilache. It was based on a system used in Naples.
Very similar to today’s Lotería Primitiva, the first draw took place in Madrid on 10th December 1763, and used the system of selecting five numbers out of a possible 90. It survived until 1862.

The fore-runner to today’s National Lottery, the Lotería Nacional, was approved during the Spanish War of Independence by the legislative body which was established during the war, the Cortes de Cádiz, in a session held in November 1811. It was based on a lottery system introduced in New Spain (modern-day Mexico) by Carlos III in 1771, with the first draw taking place in Cádiz on 4th March 1812, just two weeks before Spain’s first ever Constitution was approved by the Cortes. Christened by the public as the ‘Lotería Moderna,’ it was brought in as a way of increasing state income, and soon took over from the Primitiva in popularity. Almost 500 state administration lottery offices existed in Spain in 1817.

Probably the most eagerly-anticipated draws of the National Lottery are those which take place over the Christmas period, El Sorteo Extraordinario de Navidad (The Fat One), and El Niño (The Boy).
The biggest draw takes place every 22nd December, with millions of people around Spain glued to their radios for the duration, as they wait to hear if their number has been drawn for the top prize, El Gordo – The Fat One: a prize of 3 million € for the holders of each whole ticket issued in 185 separate numbered series.
Tickets go on sale in July: 85,000 numbers issued for each series. Each whole ticket (priced at 200 €) is then further sub-divided into décimos – a tenth part of a whole ticket. In total, more than 157 million tickets are on sale.
The draw lasts for three hours on the morning of the 22nd, as the numbers are sung out by children from the San Ildefonso school in Madrid. Thirty one people in Rebollo de Duero, Soria, had a share of the 18 million € El Gordo brought to this small village in the 2006 Christmas draw.

The purse in El Niño, held on 6th January, is slightly smaller, although it is seen as a hopeful second chance by those for whom Lady Luck failed to shine just over two weeks ago. The top prize in each series is 2 million €.

Other state-run lotteries include the Primitiva, reintroduced in 1985, and with draws taking place every Thursday and Saturday, its cousin, the Bonoloto, held every Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday, and the football pool, the Quiniela.

The ONCE coupon is which is run by the Organización Nacional de Ciegos Españoles (Spanish National Organisation of the Blind), a body founded in 1938 to support the social integration of the blind and visually impaired. Its main source of funding is the lottery the organisation runs through a state concession, and which also provides employment for thousands of disabled people in Spain.

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