Spending per person on El Gordo Christmas lottery in Spain 2019, by region

The El Gordo Christmas lottery (Spanish for “The Fat One”) is a very popular event in Spain since decades. In this lottery fever, Spaniards spend millions of euros across the country for a chance to win the first prize, which in 2020 will consist of a four million-euro Gordo. In 2019, Castile and Leon ranked as the Spanish autonomous community with the biggest spenders, with an average expenditure that amounted to over 95 euros per person. The northern autonomous community of Asturias ranked second, with an average expenditure of 88 euros per person. As of 2020, the price of a full El Gordo Christmas lottery number was two hundred euros.

Destination: clearing out all debt

If the average Spaniard won the first prize at the Gordo lottery, they would most likely use their winnings to pay off their debts, according to the latest surveys. Buying a property was also a popular option that 22 percent of lottery players would choose in case they landed a chunk of the four million euros to be shared out among the holders of one of the 10 décimos (tenths of a ticket) in which a whole ticket is divided. In contrast, only about 6.4 percent would use the money towards buying a car.

El Gordo: popularity and sales

El Gordo sales generated almost three billion euros in 2019, according to the most recent data. Madrid was the autonomous community that generated most revenues, with approximately 490 million euros. Andalusia and Catalonia ranked second and third the same year, with sales revenues amounting to over 410 and 368 million euros, respectively. The sales of El Gordo tickets seemed to have gone well across the country, which featured a positive sales growth in all regions.