Every year on December 22, so Friday this year, at the Teatro Real in Madrid, the Spanish Christmas Lottery draw is held, commonly known as El Gordo.
The doors to the theatre open at 8:00 a.m. for those who want to attend in person, and from 9:00 a.m., the drums begin to spin, and the children of San Ildefonso begin to sing the numbers and prizes that appear throughout the morning, until they end around 1:00 p.m.
During the morning of Friday, December 22, great prizes will be distributed, the most famous being known as the Christmas El Gordo, the first prize and, therefore, the largest. Thus, these are the main prizes that will be distributed in the 2023 Christmas draw:
First prize, El Gordo : distributes 4 million euro to the series, 400,000 euro per tenth
Second prize : distributes 1,250,000 euro to the series, 125,000 euro to the tenth
Third prize : distributes 500,000 euro to the series, 50,000 euro to the tenth
Fourth prize : distributes 200,000 euro to the series, 20,000 euro to the tenth
Fifth prize : distributes 60,000 euro to the series, 6,000 euro to the tenth
How much does the Treasury take from the 2023 Christmas lottery?
Like every game of chance, the 2023 Christmas lottery is subject to taxes, so the winners of the lottery’s big prizes must pay a portion to the Tax Agency, although in the case of this draw, they are not very high figures.
In fact, the first 40,000 euro of the prize are exempt from taxation, while 20% is applied to the rest of the prize and goes to the Treasury. Taking this into account, these are the prizes for which taxes are paid in the 2023 Christmas lottery:
First prize, El Gordo (400,000 euro to the tenth): 72,000 euro for the Treasury, 328,000 euro for the winner
Second prize (125,000 euro to the tenth): 17,000 euro for the Treasury, 108,000 euro for the winner
Third prize (50,000 euro to the tenth): 2,000 euro for the Treasury, 48,000 euro for the winner
Fourth prize (20,000 euro for the tenth): it is exempt from tax; however, it must still be declared to the tax office as it might be affected by other factors
Like every year, it is worth highlighting some curiosities that revolve around the 2023 Christmas lottery draw, as is the case with the balls that have been changed this year for new ones, a total of 204 balls, which has affected, above all, numbers that have the ending 7.
On the other hand, you can also find current curiosities, such as the news of the city council that has bought the same Christmas lottery number to distribute the possible prize among all the residents of a municipality in Andalusia. This is the town of Linares, in Jaén.
Likewise, the data that has to do with the organisation of the Christmas lottery draw stands out. For example, every year they uncover a curiosity: the floor of the Teatro Real is covered with carpet during the Christmas lottery draw. The reason is related to the possible fall of the prize balls or numbers. The carpeted floor prevents the balls from getting lost during the celebration.
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