Lottery in Lanzarote

If there is one thing the Spanish love to do… it’s play the lottery.  State run lottery tickets can be bought at the official outlets in Lanzarote – signposted as “Loterias y Apuestas del Estado”. Both residents and non-residents can play, and if you are lucky enough to win, then it’s tax free (except for when transferring between countries of course).

There are a variety of lottery games available to play – and here is a selection of just some of them.

Primitiva
Info: Tickets can be bought at any of the licensed outlets. You can either choose 6 out of the 49 numbers or get a lucky dip and let the computer take the blame for not giving you a winner.
Draws: Thursdays and Sundays. The big win has all six numbers matching. There are smaller prizes for fewer number matches.
Primitiva website in Spanish

Bonoloto
Info: This is very similar to the Primitiva with six out of 49 numbers.
Draws: Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday.
Bonoloto website in Spanish

La Quiniela
Info: Very similar to the football pools as played in the UK, the player has to predict the outcomes of various matches
Draws: Dependant upon football games
La Quiniela website

El Gordo
Info: El Gordo de Navidad, meaning “the Christmas fat one”, was introduced in 1763, by the king, as a way to offer the poorer folk a more affluent way of life. Today it is huge in Spain… with companies and groups of friends also clubbing together to buy a ticket. It is the biggest draw during the year.
Draws: December 22.
El Gordo website in English

El Niño
Info: Hot on the heels of El Gordo, comes El Niño, to mark the fiesta of Los Reyes.
Draws: 6th January
El Niño website in Spanish

ONCE
Info: You may have seen blind or other disabled people selling these tickets around the towns. You can also purchase these at special kiosks around the Island. This is a charity game run by the national association for the blind, the Organización Nacional de Ciegos Españoles.  ONCE employs more than 20,000 disabled people to run the lottery, and all the kiosks are manned by the blind and disabled.
Draws: The big draws are on Fridays and Sundays, but there is also a daily draw for smaller prizes too.
ONCE website in English

EuroMillions
Info: A personal favourite, the EuroMillions is run across a large chunk of Europe. The jackpot is usually much greater than the national lottery; a “roll over” (no winner) on this lottery can produce enormous prizes after just a couple of weeks. The stakes from the player in all the countries is pooled together, the minimum jackpot is €15 million.
Draws: Fridays
EuroMillions website in English

Good luck!

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