The Christmas El Gordo draw (The Fat One) is the most famous draw in the world.  It has been operated in Spain for nearly 200 years and takes place a few days before Christmas.  It is run by the Spanish government in Madrid, with much security to ensure that it is fair and completely trusted.

The prize fund for 2009 is estimated to be a staggering €2,320,000,000  –  that’s £2.1 billion, US$3.5 billion, AUS$4 billion and R26 billion – an absolute fortune, whichever way you look at it!

The next draw will take place on 22nd December 2009, when fortunes will be made.  And it is tax free, paid in a single lump sum!

Last year on 22nd December, €2.1 billion was paid out!

This is how it works:
 
A full El Gordo ticket (known as a billete) is a sheet of ten smaller tickets (known as decimos), all with the same ticket number.  The decimos are typically separated and sold individually, as players prefer to spread their chances of winning over more than one number, and so buy individual decimos.  This is what we believe at ElGordoLive.com and so we sell individual decimos rather than complete sheets.
 
When a player buys one of the decimos they will win one-tenth of the prize for that sheet.  The rest of the prize for that sheet would go to those who purchased other decimos with the same ticket number.
 
When it is time for the draw, all of the possible winning numbers, in the form of thousands of small numbered wooden balls, are placed in a large round drum.  A second drum contains 1,787 wooden balls, representing all of the available prizes.
 
The draw is performed by two children, one taking a ball from the lottery number drum and the other taking a ball from the prize drum.  The two are read out together and the owners of that lottery number win the prize drawn out with it.  This is repeated until all prizes have been won.  With 1,787 prizes to be won, the draw takes about three hour to complete!
 
How can I buy tickets and share some of these billions?
 
Tickets for the 2009 Christmas El Gordo went on sale in Spain in August and are normally purchased at official lottery shops.  But at ElGordoLive.com we have made it easy for you to buy your tickets on line.  We have purchased a range of tickets in Spain, entered them into our website and locked the original tickets away for safe keeping.
 
After the draw, we will collect all winnings and credit them to player accounts in the usual way.  Then you may request payment, which can be made to an account of your choice, anywhere in the world.
 
If you are already registered with UKLottery Live.com or EuroMillionsLive.com you will be able to buy your tickets from the selection on the home page, as described below.  If you are a new player, you can register by clicking Register here or ‘REGISTER’ in the right-hand column on the home page.
 
Once you are registered you will be able to fund your account and use these funds for purchasing ticket for any of our draws.  Your chances of winning a large fortune could be just a few clicks away!
 
To register your credit/debit card, click on 'Load Credit Card' and fill in the necessary details (You can load as many cards as you like, and this is a one off process!).  You can then fund your Player Account by clicking on 'Fund Account'.  You will find these options on the left hand Player Menu after you have logged in.  If you don't have a Credit/Debit Card please Contact Us and we will tell you about our other options for funding your Player Account.
 
With funds in your account you are ready to select those potentially life-changing tickets.
 
To purchase El Gordo tickets go to the Play panel on the ElGordoLive.com home page, look at the available tickets and select the ones that you would like to buy.  If you would prefer a different selection, press the ‘Randomise’ button and different tickets will be displayed.  When you have selected your tickets, press the ‘Purchase’ button and those tickets will be yours!  We will send you an email confirming your ticket selection.
 
Please note that the tickets displayed are decimos, which are one-tenth of a complete ticket sheet, so there will be other decimos with the same number.