South Africans wishing for a very merry Christmas and willing to place a fixed odds bet on the outcome of the “El Gordo” need to look no further than Lottoland’s Spanish Christmas Lottery on 22 December.

With its R38 billion in total prize money up for grabs, the Spanish Christmas Lottery is the biggest lottery in the world. Until recently, the Spanish Christmas Lottery was only available in Spain, but now South Africans also stand a chance to win the same prizes, including the ‘El Gordo’ top prize, by placing a fixed odds bet at www.lottoland.co.za.

Over 1,800 numbers are drawn and every bet placed stands a chance to win a prize of between €200 (ZAR equivalent) and €4 million (ZAR equivalent). According to Lottoland’s chief executive, Nigel Birrell, even if you are not one of the lucky players to win the ‘El Gordo’, there’s a 1-in-7 chance of winning a lower tier prize.

“The Spanish Christmas Lottery is a favourite Christmas tradition in Spain – with almost every Spanish person taking part in the lottery event. Each year, a prize pool of more than €2 billion is won on the Spanish Christmas Lottery,” he adds.

Licenced to operate in SA

Lottoland is licensed by the South African Western Cape Gambling and Racing Board. Lottoland’s South African website enables South African players to place fixed odds bets on over 25 lotto products from around the world, including EuroMillions, US PowerBall and the Irish Lotto.

Alongside these there are exclusive main prizes like Cash4Life (win R10 000 per day for the rest of your life) and Keno24/7 (win up to R1 million every 4 minutes).

What is fixed odds betting?

Fixed odds betting is when a player places a bet on one or more contingencies on which the odds are agreed at the time the bet is placed. Thanks to its betting model, players in South Africa can place fixed odds bets on these draws, regardless of where the lottery is based.

Players can use a desktop, tablet or mobile, and the Lottoland website and app allow players to bet on their favourite products wherever they are.

Birrell goes on to explain that fixed odds betting is not the same as buying a ticket into the official draw. With a fixed odds bet, the player is placing a bet on the likelihood that the numbers they selected might be drawn.

The player is not buying a lottery ticket in the official draw.

Fixed odds betting is conducted through a separate licensed company, such as Lottoland, which is not connected in any way to the relevant lottery operator. Any money the player wins is paid out by Lottoland, not the official lottery operator.

Where does Lottoland originate?

Launched in Gibraltar in 2013, Lottoland had an initial team of just seven employees united by a frustration with traditional lottery offerings. Lottoland has 11 offices across four continents, these include offices in Gibraltar (UK), Malaga (Spain), Porto (Portugal), Bratislava (Slovakia), Sydney and Darwin (Australia). The majority of its employees are based at its headquarters in Gibraltar.

Gibraltar offers one of the most advanced regulatory frameworks in international gaming. This kind of fair and regulated market protects customers while driving innovation and allowing for healthy competition.

Over the years Gibraltar has amassed and developed a vast amount of expertise specific to the gaming industry, together with cutting-edge infrastructure and a huge pool of talent. This makes Gibraltar the perfect base for a fast-growing company such as Lottoland. Today, Lottoland has over 10 million customers.

This makes Lottoland one of the most successful start-ups in Europe. To date, Lottoland’s players have won over €1 billion via its website. In 2018 Lottoland celebrated a €90 million winner from Berlin in Germany, a Guinness World Records achievement for the world’s biggest online gambling pay out.

Lottoland claims industry-first with insurance licence Lottoland has also become the first company in the gaming sector to establish its own insurance firm, after securing approval from the Gibraltar Financial Services Commission (FSC) on 28 September 2017.

The regulatory body awarded the online lottery betting operator an insurance licence, allowing Lottoland to found Fortuna Insurance PPC Limited. Regulated by the FSC in Gibraltar and the European Insurance and Occupational Pension Authority, Fortuna Insurance PPS Ltd underwrites all Lottoland’s bookmaking risks.

Birrell says that Lottoland’s reinsurance structure, which combines both risk carrying markets, insurance linked securities and traditional insurance, consists of the highest coverage in the market for the underlying gaming business.

Lottoland supports responsible betting. No persons under the age of 18 years are permitted to gamble. Winners know when to stop. National responsible gambling toll-free counselling line 0800 006 008.