On Epiphany
Baby Jesus lottery in Spain pays out 770 million euros
Lottery player Juan Antonio Prada, who won part of the “First Prize” of the Baby Jesus lottery, celebrates his win
© Gustavo Valiente/EUROPA PRESS / DPA
Rain of money on Epiphany: winnings of 770 million euros were awarded in the Baby Jesus lottery in Spain. Millions of Spaniards watched the spectacle.
After the Christmas lottery, prizes totaling 770 million euros will be awarded again in Spain in the Baby Jesus lottery on Epiphany. As every year, millions of Spaniards watched the live broadcast of the lucky number draw, which began at midday in Madrid, glued to their televisions on the Epiphany holiday, as it does every year. Epiphany is the highlight of Christmas celebrations in Spain, when children finally receive their presents in the morning.
Lottery in Spain: One ticket costs 200 euros
The main prize of two million euros will in principle be paid out a total of 55 times: 55 of each of the 100,000 ticket numbers printed on the tickets will be issued and sold. A whole ticket is also divided into ten tenth tickets. Since a whole ticket costs at least 200 euros, it is usually only bought by betting communities. Most players settle for one or two tenths of a ticket. In the case of the main prize, there will be 200,000 euros – minus taxes.
The Baby Jesus lottery has been played since 1941 and is only surpassed by the Christmas lottery. There were all of them on December 22nd Spain has already been paid out profits totaling almost 2.6 billion euros. This traditional lottery has been around for more than 200 years and is considered not only the largest but also the oldest in the world.