The Royal Theater of Madrid opened its doors this Monday, December 22, at 7:00 a.m. to allow access to the media who will inform about the extraordinary draw of the 2025 Christmas lottery, the girls and boys of San Ildefonso who will sing the lucky numbers and the staff who will take part in the celebration of the draw from 9:00 a.m.
On Sunday afternoon, dozens of people lined up at the doors of the Madrid Colosseum despite the low temperatures in the capital, with the minimum temperatures reaching below zero at 6:00 a.m. this Monday.
As every year, a queue formed on the eve of the raffle, headed by mythical figures, costumed fans and Christmas decorations. As the police told Europa Press, around 500 people were waiting for their turn to enter the theater and take one of the seats in the stalls after 7:00 a.m. this Monday. The first, the “Pope”, the Bishop and the mythical Manoli.
As far as the development of the draw is concerned, it will take place like every year. On December 21st, the number balls and prizes used for the Christmas raffle were inspected and counted.
In addition, the boys and girls of the San Ildefonso Boarding Residence conducted the final rehearsal on Sunday; Once the lottery was ready, the lottery staff hung the umbrellas with the lira containing the 100,000 numbers and the 1,807 winning balls used to conduct the draw. After the execution was completed, the key men of the state lottery and betting office set about closing and sealing the doors of the Teatro Real hall. Everything was ready for the draw.
This Monday, around 8:30 a.m., the table will be formed that will guide and authorize the start of the Christmas raffle. The balls are then mechanically transported to the drum in the hopper where they were previously deposited. This process is carried out with both the number balls and the winning balls. Finally, the drums are closed and rotated simultaneously at a signal from the President.
One of the boys or girls from San Ildefonso draws a ball from the number drum and another child at the same time, another from the prize drum, both sung by two other boys or girls, who insert the balls into the wires provided on the table.
These wires are grouped in a “table” until they contain two hundred balls of each kind and are duly closed in front of the presidential table with the approval of the President and Controller. The draw ends when there are no more balls in the prize pot.
Throughout the drawing, a team of fifty people works to obtain the official list through a process that is “controlled from all sides,” according to State Lotteries and Betting. “Given the dynamics of this draw, which, as everyone knows, retains traditional elements from more than 200 years ago, it may be that a particular number was called incorrectly,” he explains.
In this sense, he adds that “possible errors” will be checked in the various checks carried out during and after the draw. The only valid information for the payment of prizes is the information contained in the official prize list.
During the development of the draw and while the tables recently sung by the boys and girls are removed, the auxiliary table consisting of lottery personnel checks that all numbers and prizes found on it match the preliminary computer lists of prizes that are created in a computer room at one of the SELAE headquarters. In addition, there is another computerized room in the Royal Theater itself to carry out this task. If there is no match, the provisional list will be corrected.
When a table is ready, the highest prizes sung on that table are immediately verified by the presidential table, which includes a notary, and are padlocked in front of all its members so that the balls contained therein cannot be tampered with, with the tables remaining at all times on the stage and visible to the audience present in the theater.
Once the draw is completed, all prices and numbers from all tables are compared again, with the members of the respective presidential tables marking the computer lists. As mentioned above, these were previously checked and corrected using the auxiliary table.
Once the tables on the stage have been checked, the winning list is created in the Teatro Real, where a 14-person team once again checks the winning balls and numbers contained in the tables.
Finally, a final verification will be carried out at the National Mint and Stamp Factory and the official list of awards will be prepared, which will be processed and distributed to outlets and media on the afternoon of December 22nd so that all citizens can view the official results. It is also available on the official lottery website.
“The only result of the draw is the one contained in the official prize list and, accordingly, in the records of the SELAE central computer system, since only these are valid for the allocation of prizes. If a number does not appear as a winner in the official prize list, no prize claim can be estimated thereon. The tables with the winning numbers are open to the public at the lottery headquarters for seven days,” he emphasizes.
About The Author
