SPANISH LOTTERIES - LA PRIMITIVA

 SPANISH LOTTERIES EXPLAINED

The first thing to say about any of the Spanish lotteries is that you are allowed to buy a ticket whatever your nationality.  British are not barred from taking part!  The only restriction is you must be 18 years old.

You can have a gamble / bet (apuesta) by simply going into one of the local lottery offices up and down most high streets in Spain.  Lottery offices open from 0900 to 1400 and again from 1700 to 1930.  They close on Saturday afternoons. Other offices that double up as other shops and businesses may have different hours. 

The La Primitiva is drawn EVERY Thursday and Saturday evening, even if it coincides with a bank holiday, and is the most popular of the lotteries with both Spanish and the expats.  There are two ways you can play, and you can choose to play for just one day or both.  Whatever you decide, the tickets are different.  To play for one day only, you need to look for a ticket with a green bar with the words “Un Sorteo” and No 162 (pictured below),

and for both days a ticket with a brown top with the words Jueves + Sabado and No 171 (pictured below). 

Both tickets are divided into 8 blocks of 49 numbers.  You can have as many blocks as you wish and each block only costs €1.  To give you a complete example, let’s assume you want to play both days and you want 2 blocks of numbers. Pick up the brown top form and select SIX numbers in each block putting a X over each number.  Hand the completed form to the cashier and pay, in this case, your €4 (2 lines x 2 days).  You’ll receive a printed receipt ticket with your selected numbers and a Reintegro (lucky number) (pictured) which you must keep in case you need to claim.  You’ll also be given the original form back which you can use again and again if you wish, or complete a new one with different numbers each time.

You may also be asked if you want to play the Joker.  Unless you understand the system, I suggest you decline.  You can also have multiple betting options which even I find very confusing and would also recommend you leave them aside!

You can also go straight to the cashier and ask for a lucky dip ticket.  Using the same example above, ask for “dos apuestas por La Primitiva – jueves y sabado” (Two bets for La Primitiva – Thursday and Saturday). 

You’ll be given a printed receipt ticket as above with a random selection of numbers.

You can check the winning numbers in some of the local Spanish press or the website, of course, or you can take your ticket to any of the lottery offices – it doesn’t have to be the one you made the bet.  The website is http://www.loteriasyapuestas.es/en/la-primitiva

To win a prize on La Primitiva, you need to match 3 numbers, 4 numbers, 5 numbers, 5 numbers + the bonus ball (complimentario), 6 numbers, and 6 numbers + the lucky number (reintegro).   If the reintegro number drawn is the same as on your ticket, you automatically get your stake money back for that day only.  Therefore, using our example above, and if the reintegro matched for the Thursday draw, you would get your €2 back.

If you match 3 numbers, you automatically win €8.  Other amounts for matching the other numbers vary depending on the number of winning tickets.  As an example, the winnings paid out for having a ticket with 6 numbers for Thursday 6^th August (with just one winner) was just under €2,000,000.  5 + Complimentario was €26,000, 5 numbers was €2,500, and 4 numbers was €82.

If the main jackpot prize is not won, the money is then returned to the “pot” for future special draws which are announced from time to time.  The La Primitiva does not feature a rollover. La Primitiva is one of many state run lotteries, so all profits go directly into government funds and help to keep general taxation low, thanks to the Spanish being the biggest gamblers in the world.  La Primitiva does not support so-called “good causes”.

GENERAL INFORMATION

If you are lucky enough to win a substantial amount on any of the state run Spanish lotteries, the maximum winnings paid by the individual lottery office is €600.  Anything over this amount and you will need to take your winning ticket to your bank.  They will make a copy for you, sign it and keep the original.  They will then contact the relevant lottery office (the individual office identification is on the ticket as part of the bar code) and when the winning amount is confirmed, the monies will be paid into your bank account.  From a lucky experience of a few years ago (5 numbers paid out just over €3,000), this system does work and normally takes around 3 to 5 days.  You normally have 60 to 90 days to first claim your winnings.

Winnings over €2,500 are now subject to a tax of 20%.  The first €2,500 is exempt; however you may have to pay tax on any interest earned.  This is something you should discuss with your accountant.  It is also advisable, in the case of the many private syndicates that are organised, if you win a large amount to make a list of the people taking part and signing an agreement, preferably with their ID details and also in front of a notary.  This is to ensure that any tax payable at the end of the year is rightly shared among those taking part and not just the organiser.

In the next posting, I’ll feature the EL BONO LOTO.  If you have any questions about the Spanish lotteries, please let me know.