Everything you need to know about Spain's El Niño lottery

Many people in Spain who were unlucky in the huge Christmas lottery (Lotería de Navidad), with the famous El Gordo jackpot on 22 December, will no doubt try their luck again with the Lotería de El Niño. The draw will start on 6 January 2025 at 12 noon, in the Loterías y Apuestas del Estado centre and will be held using the multi-drum system. What are the most repeated combinations throughout its history? How many times and when has it fallen in Malaga? Here are some interesting facts about the draw, its list of prizes, history and other facts. Take note.

According to the information provided by the state's Loterías y Apuestas del Estado, this year's issue is 55 series of 100,000 tickets each, at a price of 200 euros per ticket, divided into tenths (décimos) of 20 euros. The total amount issued is 1.1 billion euros. Seventy per cent of the issue, or 770 million euros, is earmarked for prizes.

The most important prizes are as follows:

■ A first prize of two million euros per series.

■ A second prize of 750,000 euros per series.

■ third prize of 250,000 euros per series.

Since when has this popular draw been held? There are documented references that in 1868 this draw was already popularly known as 'El Niño', perhaps as it coincides with Epiphany and Kings' Day, which is celebrated in Spain on 6 January.

According to official sources, it was not until 1941 that this draw was officially given its name and became the second most important draw in the national lottery after 'El Gordo'. At that time it consisted of four series of 42,000 tickets each, at 150 pesetas per ticket, divided into tenths (décimos) of 15 pesetas. That year 166,668 tickets were sold with a total takings of 25,230,000 pesetas, which brought in a profit of just over 7.7 million pesetas for the state.

Another fact to highlight: all the draws have been held uninterruptedly by the Old or Traditional System until 1965, and by the Modern or Multiple Draw System since 1966. Finally, it should be noted that in 1999 the El Niño draw was held on 6 January instead of 5 January.

Which number to pick? For those who check the statistics the number 0 is the 'favourite' termination of the first prize of the draw: it has come up twenty times, the last time in 2021. According to figures provided by Loterías y Apuestas del Estado (LAE), it is followed in frequency of occurrence by the number seven and then nine. The number three, on the other hand, is the number that has won the highest prize of the draw the least number of times.

Below, we list the numbers that have won, from 1908 to 2024, the first prize in the 'Lotería de El Niño' lottery:

According to official data, in the Andalucía region the spend per inhabitant is 14.77 euros this year. In the province of Malaga, 14.66 euros per inhabitant.

In 2024 the Lotería del Niño first prize, with the number 94,974, was sold all over Spain, including in Malaga province where it fell in several localities : Torremolinos (Plaza del Lido), in Marbella (Calle Fortaleza), in Arriate (in Calle Ronda) and in Malaga city (Calle Mármoles, Avenida Velázquez and Calle Catapilco). Curiously, the third prize was also won in these last two administrations.

Up until 2024, Malaga city has won the first prize six times (1919, 1987, 2002, 2016, 2021 and 2024). In Torremolinos it has landed twice (2016, 2024) while in other municipalities it has been sold once: Alhaurín de la Torre (2021), Antequera (1910), Arriate (2024), Coín (1946), Estepona (2021), Marbella (2024) and Vélez-Málaga (1970).