THE Christmas Lotterywhose first printing dates back to 1812, went from a simple printing to increase state revenue (at the time to finance public coffers during the Napoleonic invasion) to, more than 200 years laterin a more Spanish Christmas traditiondevotedly followed by millions of people who each year buy and share tenths hoping the hype will spread good luck every December 22.
The Spain of 2025 is very different from that of 1931 and yet, like any tradition, Christmas Lottery He had already gathered his friends and family to do the same, on the same day and at the same time, 93 years ago: listen to the radio and the press to find out if his number was the one chosen by the children of San Ildefonso.
However, in 1931, luck would be nowhere to be found: for the first and only time in history, the Christmas Lottery Jackpot It didn’t affect anyone.
1931, the year El Gordo didn’t play
The first Christmas Lottery of the Second Republic took place on December 22, 1931 at the Madrid Mint. At stake: a total prize of 30 million pesetas first prizeEl Gordo, for two series (around 79 million euros today adjusted for inflation, according to the calculator on the Measurement Worth site).
According to chronicles of the time, Gordo had to wait, and left when there were only 30 bullets left to extract. The lucky number was 24,717. However, when the award winning city was announced, there was a surprising announcement: “Book now!” »
The public present at the Monnaie reacted between disappointment and frustration in the face of this controversial result: the ‘Gordo’ had not been sold and the amount would go entirely into the state coffers. According to ABC, many citizens complained and protested: What a deal for the state, as if it didn’t have enough!
The next day’s press reported the historic result: ABC opened its front page of reports the “surprise” of the year “for all Spaniards”: “Thirty million pesetas for the Public Treasury.” Other newspapers, such as El Independiente de Lugo, echoed what happened on their front pages: “El Gordo went to the reserves with all his salary.”
What happens if Gordo doesn’t touch anyone?
Even if nothing prevents it, It is very difficult for this precedent to be repeated currently: the winning number does so in all its series (193 series of each number, or 1,930 tenths per number), and taking into account the fact that it is the most popular draw of the Spanish Lottery and that it is also traditional to divide it into participations, it is almost impossible that Gordo’s number does not touch anyone (although in 1931 it occurred with a much greater probability than today, of 1 in 40,000 and not 1 in 100,000 as currently).
In case this happens, It would be the State which would take back the entire prize, as if it were an unclaimed prize.. El Gordo would go to the state coffers, since it keeps all the undistributed prizes from the draw after the three-month deadline to claim them, which in this edition would be March 23, 2026.
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