SPANISH LOTTERIES - O.N.C.E.

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.  This time we look at a non-state run lottery called the O.N.C.E.

When we first came to Spain, we all saw these green kiosks in the streets with the word ONCE on them.  What did it mean?  We then learned that ONCE was the Spanish word for 11...and then a little later that it stood for the Organización Nacional de Ciegos Españoles – the Spanish National Blind Organisation – O.N.C.E.

It was founded on December 13^th 1938 with the purpose of raising funds to provide services for blind people or those with a serious visual impairment.  It is not a state-controlled lottery and although it is overseen by a board of patrons made up of representatives from various Spanish ministries, O.N.C.E. does enjoy a certain amount of freedom in the day-to-day running of its activities.

O.N.C.E lottery tickets are sold on the streets by authorised sellers, as well as in O.N.C.E kiosks. These are clearly identified by the O.N.C.E name and logo and can be found along the high street, at airports, and in shopping centres. You may also see many of the sellers simply sat at collapsible tables wherever you go.  These points of sale always employ the blind or partially sighted, and employ over 136,000 people of whom almost 90% are people with disabilities.  The monies raised by this lottery cover the payments and commissions to the sellers and as such reduce the burden on the state to pay such benefits.  Over the last few years, people with other disabilities have been helped by the O.N.C.E lottery.

HOW TO PLAY

There are many different types of O.N.C.E tickets, but we’ll just cover the most popular and easiest to explain!  You’ll see all the various kinds of tickets on the seller’s table or hanging up in the kiosk. 

CUPON DIARIO

To begin with, just look for the tickets with today’s date on them.  Every seller will have different ticket numbers – there are 99,999 spread over the entire country – so select your ticket containing five digits – such as 43181 and a Serie No 28 (pictured).  The cost is €1.50 per ticket.  These are available every Monday to Thursday, are known as the CUPON DIARIO (Daily Coupon), and drawn out in the evenings. 

Prize money for the CUPON DIARIO is fixed amounts.  If you match the 5 number winning ticket you win €35,000.  Using our example of 43181, if 43180 or 43182 (the before and after number) is the winning ticket, you win €500. Matching the last four numbers (3181) wins €200, last three numbers (181) wins €20, and the last two numbers (81) €6.  If you have the first number (4) or last number (1) you get your stake money (€1.50) back.  For an extra €0.50c, you can upgrade to the EL PAGA daily ticket, and if you match the winning number AND the Serie, you win an incredible €3,000 PER MONTH for 25 YEARS!  That works out to a total prize of €900,000!

CUPONAZO

The Friday O.N.C.E draw is called CUPONAZO (Giant coupon!) and each ticket costs €3.  You can buy them any day of the week for the following Friday.  Prize money is €9,000,000 for matching 5 numbers and the Serie.  Matching the five without the Serie wins €30,000. Other prizes are broken down as above for matching the last four (€500), three (€50) and two (€6). Money back (€3) if you match the last number.  You can invest an extra €1 or €2 for a CUPONAZO XL or XXL and the prize money increases accordingly with the top prizes being €12,000,000 and €15,000,000 respectively.  The lower prizes are also adjusted to reflect the extra stake money.

SUELDAZO

Finally, for the present, there is the weekend only ticket called the SUELDAZO (Giant salary!); so called because the top prize for matching the winning number and the Serie is a remarkable one-off payment of €300,000 PLUS €5,000 PER MONTH for 20 YEARS! A grand overall total of €1,500,000!  As with the other O.N.C.E draws, there are prizes for matching 5,4,3,2 and the last number.  The SUELDAZO ticket costs €2, and you can buy them for either the Saturday OR Sunday draws. 

GENERAL INFORMATION

Don’t forget that the people who sell the O.N.C.E tickets are blind or partially sighted, so please be patient and respectful when you buy or they check your tickets, often with large magnifying glasses.  Also, they have virtually no knowledge of English so be prepared to use a handful of Spanish words.  You can check your winning numbers in the local press or via the website which is https://www.juegosonce.es/ and click on the link saying "Ver resultados".

If you are lucky enough to win a substantial amount on the O.N.C.E lottery, the maximum winnings paid by the individual sellers is €200.  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 seller or kiosk (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.  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.

If you have any questions about the Spanish lotteries, please let me know.