18/12/2012 00:00
TW
0

Palma.—Sales of Christmas lottery tickets are not going as planned.
Managers of many State Lottery booths and kiosks are mindful of what happened last year when there was a significant downturn in the number of ticket sales, and Christmas 2012 looks as though it is going the same way.

Antonia Durán, the proprietor of ticket sales office No. 17, better known as La Bruja Pirula (“The Wily Witch”) commented: “I couldn't say exactly how much less people are spending on the lottery this year but I do know that we are selling considerably less tickets than last year, and even then there had been a downturn in comparison with 2010.” “We are left with no alternative but to hope that in the days which are left until next Saturday prior to the draw on 22nd December, that the window of opportunity opens a little. Even so, it's going to be difficult to recover the high level of sales we've enjoyed in years prior to the crisis.

Major prizes “In fact,” said Durán, “we can't complain about business as a whole, as so far this year, our booth has been able to hand out two major prizes. The most recent was during the week prior to last on 6th December in the Thursday drawer in which we sold a first prize ticket. “Then last June, we had the good fortune to be able to pay out 4 million euros in prizes for a Saturday draw, and then 3 million euros for the special draw.” “Now, we've just got to keep our fingers crossed for last minute sales for this year's Christmas draw.” “We haven't had this particular State Lottery booth long but what we have noticed is that tourists are a big help to our business, mostly Spanish national tourists. They like to buy lottery tickets in the Islands and take them home to the mainland to increase their chances of a win.” Durán said that once the holiday season was over, there was a marked difference in ticket sales.

The Christmas Lottery, familiarly known as “El Gordo” was first established in the 19th century and is a firm favourite with the Spanish population.
The tickets are sold in fractions of ten and are known as “decimos” and there have been major wins in the Balearics in recent years.
The next major draw is known as “El Niño,” in recognitionof the Christ child and is held on 6th January, the Feast of the Three Kings.