Lots of Christmas money!

Viennese woman celebrates “El Gordo” top prize!

Children from the San Ildefonso school help with the El Gordo Christmas lottery draw at Madrid's Teatro Real and sing out the winning numbers.(Bild: APA/Bernat Armangue)

The magic of the legendary Spanish Christmas lottery "El Gordo" has once again reached Austria this year: a 61-year-old Viennese woman was delighted to win a top prize! 

She bought a share of the ticket with the lucky number 72480 via the online lottery provider Lottoland and won 200,000 euros. With just 1/20th of the ticket, she secured her share of the big jackpot and is now starting the new year with financial ease.

Spanish Christmas tradition
Since 1812, "El Gordo" has been an integral part of the Spanish Christmas tradition. The main prize, known as "El Gordo" (the big one), is four million euros for an entire ticket. It will be paid out 193 times this year - eight times more than last year, as each of the 100,000 ticket numbers will be sold just as often. The cash prize corresponds to 70 percent of this year's sales revenue of 3.86 billion.

The number 72480 is the winner of the top prize!(Bild: APA/Miguel Oses)

Schoolchildren sing the winning numbers
The emotional heart of the lottery is the traditional draw, which attracts millions of people to the screens. Schoolchildren ceremoniously sing the winning numbers from two large lottery drums, a tradition that unites the country at Christmas time. On December 22, 2024 at 11:28 a.m., the time had come: the number 72480 was announced as the winner of the main prize.

Most tickets are sold in Spain, but more and more foreigners are also taking part online.