The goal of this article is to point out some of the significant differences between traditional lottery games and the world famous El Gordo lottery.

In a standard lotto game a player is typically required to pick a line of numbers from a particular number range as well as an additional bonus number. For example, in the UK National lotto a player if required to choose 6 main numbers from 1-49 inclusive and then a further bonus number from the same range. To win the jackpot, a player needs to match all of their six main chosen numbers with those numbers drawn. If no player manages to match all the drawn numbers in a given week, the top prize is rolled over to the subsequent week increasing in size as it does so.

The December El Gordo draw is significantly different in this area; only so many tickets are printed for this draw and because of this, winners are guaranteed in every draw.

The price you have to pay for a full El Gordo ticket (Billete) is also hugely different from acquiring a ticket in a typical lottery game, like the UK lotto. Purchasing a ticket for a single UK draw costs a UK citizen precisely 1 pound. El Gordo lotto tickets will, however, set you back 200 Euros each. Due to the substantial price tag of participating in this lotto game, entire tickets are divided into ten parts (Decimos) costing a more reasonable 20 Euros. It is therefore rather common for groups of friends or family members to split up the cost of an entire El Gordo lotto ticket in order to make the game a more workable proposition.

In the UK National lotto a tiny percentage of individuals ever win considerable quantities of money, with the majority left disappointed every week. The El Gordo lotto on the other hand gives that winning feeling to a much larger percentage of individuals. In the 2006 El Gordo lottery draw, 3 million Euros were paid out to each of the 180 winning billetes. In the El Gordo lottery draw held in 2005, the winning number was sold in the town of Vic in Catalonia (population 37,825), whose citizens scooped approximately 500 million Euros.

The Elgordo also delivers significantly enhanced odds of securing a cash payout compared to that of the UK National lotto; with the Elgordo you have a very nice 1 in 6 chance of picking up a cash prize compared to 1 in 52 when partaking in the UK lottery.

When partaking in lotteries such as the UK lotto, extra lottery tickets are made available every time a pound is spent meaning that tickets never run out for any of the weekly draws. The El Gordo is vastly different because only a certain number of tickets are ever printed and once they are all sold no more will become available.

The El Gordo lottery not only generates enormous joy in its native Spain but now all over the world due to the ever increasing number of online lottery ticket sales agents. It is therefore crucial that you secure your chosen quantity of lottery tickets as soon as they become available, to avoid disappointment.