El Gordo 2023: GGL warns urgently against participating in the annual Christmas lottery

The Spanish Christmas lottery El Gordo is potentially one of the most lucrative and popular lottery games in the world. The total prize money is in the billions. No wonder so many Germans take part in the draw every year. However, the Joint Gaming Authority of the German States (GGL) recently issued an urgent warning in a press release against buying such tickets in Germany.

"Every year again": Christmas is approaching and many German lottery fans are looking forward to a very special event. The Spanish Christmas lottery El Gordo is a fixture in the diaries of many players in this country. Some of them would love to get their hands on a share of the huge total prize pool, which is well over €2 billion.

However, it seems that the Joint Gambling Authority of the Federal States (GGL) (formerly the Gambling Supervisory Authority in Halle) has also added the draw to its list of important dates. After all, 2023 is not the first year in which a clear warning has been issued against German participation. Of course, El Gordo is always worth a report for GambleJoe, as was the case in 2022: "El Gordo 2022: The Spectacular Christmas Lottery".

This year, the GGL's press release is comparatively short, but all the more emphatic: the brokering of tickets for El Gordo from so-called secondary lotteries is "illegal" in Germany and participation is "punishable by law", according to the quintessence.

This is what the GGL has to say about El Gordo

In a recent press release, the GGL states that it is illegal to offer El Gordo tickets through lottery websites on the internet: "Instead of participating in the actual Christmas Lottery, bets on the outcome of the lottery are only placed with a third party and therefore no contract is concluded with the state lottery organiser".

It has to be said: Lottery tickets can only be bought in Spain at the sales points of the State Lottery "Loterías y Apuestas del Estado". Even during the coronavirus pandemic and the associated contact restrictions, people queued up at the counters, which caused problems here and there.

The problem now is that the so-called secondary lotteries, which also allow Germans to participate in El Gordo, "are not eligible for authorisation under the State Treaty on Gambling 2021". This means that the sites do not have a German licence and therefore their services cannot be used in Germany. The GGL refers to the whitelist and recommends that interested parties look for suitable lottery options there.

Anyone participating in El Gordo via secondary lotteries would be liable to prosecution: "In this context, GGL would like to point out that participation in unauthorised gambling is punishable under Section 285 of the German Criminal Code (StGB) and can be punished with a prison sentence of up to six months or a fine of up to one hundred and eighty daily rates.

CEO Ronald Benter said in the press release:"Many players may not be aware of this. All players interested in playing are therefore advised to check the official whitelist in advance to get an overview of the gambling operators licensed in Germany".

El Gordo - what a spectacle

El Gordo actually means "La Loteria de Navidad", which translates as "The Spanish Christmas Lottery". For Spaniards, this lottery is one of the most important events of the Christmas season - according to statistics, more than 90 per cent of them see it as a duty rather than an opportunity. The draw, which takes place every year on 22 December in Madrid, brings together fans from all over the country to watch and celebrate the event. There is a party atmosphere, creative costumes and a lot of excitement.

It all sounds very crazy and "typical" of today's world. But the drawing of the lottery numbers just before Christmas is actually a very traditional event in Spain. The Spanish have been holding lottery draws at this time of year for over 200 years. In fact, the first Christmas lottery was held in 1812. Today, it is not only one of the largest, but also one of the oldest lotteries in the world.

El Gordo 2023 at a glance

• The total prize pool is a staggering €2.6 billion.
• The El Gordo draw will take place on 22 December 2023 at 9am in Madrid.
• Translated, El Gordo means "The Fat One", referring to the main prize.
• The right ticket number will win the lucky winner 4 million euros.
• There can be more than one winner, so the total amount can increase enormously.
• Each ticket is available in an edition of 185, which means lots of top prizes.
• Prize category 1 contains 185 times 4 million euros = 740 million euros.
• The odds of winning are 1:100,000, which is much better than the German 6aus49 (1:140 million).
• Tickets for El Gordo are bought in winning shares - the décimo, or tenth ticket, is popular.
• Ticket numbers range from 00000 to 99999.
• In total there are 17 prize categories and more than 15,000 prizes.

Here is a breakdown of the top prize categories:

• "El Gordo": 4,000,000 euros
• "Segundo": 1,250,000 euros
• "Tercero": 500,000 euros
• "Cuarto": 200,000 euros
• "Quinto": 60,000 euros

Conclusion

Image source: https://pixabay.com/photos/balls-prize-draw-lottery-bingo-6077901/