El Gordo de la Primitiva was created by Loterias y Apuestas del Estado (LAE) in Spain, as a complement to the other two lotto games (the Primitiva and the BonoLoto).
The first draw was held on October 31st 1993, and unusually, only held a single monthly draw, being the last Sunday of the month.
With an initial price of 500 Pesetas (The equivalent today being € 3.00) players were given a double chance to participate in the game. You could opt for the purchase of a pre-printed ticket with the combination of the 5 main numbers, plus the refund number. The other option allowed the player to choose their own numbers through a ticket of a different colour.
This system was maintained until four years later, when in October 1997, the draws became weekly on a Sunday with some significant changes to its regulations.
Since draws are determined and reserved for first-category winners, it’s only possible to access a cumulative jackpot if there is no winner in the previous draw.
On January 31st 2005, there was a significant change in regulations, incorporating a guaranteed minimum jackpot of € 5,000,000, and up to eight prize categories, plus the refund. Expectations of obtaining prize increased considerably.
What is El Gordo de la Primitiva?
El Gordo de la Primitiva is basically a game of chance, in which the player must get as many matching numbers as possible.
When the raffle is held, five balls are randomly drawn from one of the 54, with numbers between 1 and 54.
Likewise, a ball is extracted from a second drum, numbered from 0 to 9 which consists of the key number or refund.
The player can make as many bets as they wish and can do so manually by choosing their own numbers or by allowing the system to choose a random combination.
El Gordo de la Primitiva Price
Each El Gordo tickets costs € 2.50, and you can make as many bets as you want.
Odds of winning El Gordo of la Primitiva
The odds of winning a prize are 1 in 19 (matching two main numbers), whilst odds of winning the first category prize decrease to 1 in 31,625,100.
It may seem very distant if we compare it to La Primitiva where the odds are 1 in 13.983.816, and much easier than Euromillions where the odds are 1 in 76.275.360
El Gordo most awarded numbers
The 10 most commonly extracted winning numbers since the first draw, in ascending order, are: 3, 6, 18, 21, 23, 11, 34, 27, 9 and 4
On the other hand, numbers most reluctant to appear in a draw are: 52, 50, 54, 51, 49, 46, 48, 47, 43 and 53.
Curious, right? Numbers least likely to emerge appear to be of greater value.