People new in Spain are often confused about Spain’s National Lottery. Drawn on Saturdays, with a cheaper drawing on Thursdays, the Lotería Nacional is run by the State which means, if you win it, your winnings are tax-exempt as long as the money remains in Spain (you’ll be taxed on it if it leaves the country).
The National Lottery in Spain has been running for almost 250 years so it’s still a safe bet during the country’s current economic troubles.
So how to win Spain’s National Lottery? Obviously, you must buy a ticket and buying at least one for every drawing will increase your chances.
Tickets are bought in tenths or, as the Spanish call them, décimos. Each ticket is 20 euros and a full ticket (a serie) ( which is 1 décimo times 10) is 200 euros, so they’re not cheap, but there’s no limit to how many you can buy and the rewards can be huge. Winnings run in the millions of euros with the Christmas drawing the biggest one of the year.
In the National Lottery, you don’t pick your numbers, you just get the numbers printed on the ticket, so sometiimes you’re lucky and sometimes you’re not.
To win Lotería Nacional you must match all the numbers on the ticket, but you do win a smaller prize if you get every number except the last two. Then, if the last number on your ticket matches the jackpot winner, you get a refund in the price of your ticket.
If you’re out of Spain and still want to play in the National Lottery or any of Spain’s other lotteries, the El Gordo website lets you order tickets online.
And, if you do play, check this page for the day’s winning numbers, updated after every drawing.