Yes, the Spanish Christmas Lottery is already on sale and yes, it really is only July

With 162 days to go until the December 22 draw, tickets are already flying and this year's adverts are already turning heads

People always say Christmas comes earlier every year, and here in Spain they might actually have a point. It's only Monday July 13, there are 162 days until December 22, the temperature is nudging 40 degrees, and the 2026 El Gordo Christmas Lottery is already on sale. Only in Spain.

Loterías y Apuestas del Estado have confirmed that tickets are already available, with the draw set to distribute a record €2.87 billion in prizes, a full €98 million more than last year. This year's issue runs to 205 series of 100,000 numbers each, seven more than 2026, making a total prize pot of €4.1 billion, of which 70% goes back to ticket holders. A tenth share still costs €20.

The headline prizes remain as eye-catching as ever. El Gordo, the top prize, is worth €400,000 per tenth share. Second prize pays out €125,000 per tenth, and third prize €50,000. One fresh detail for 2026: all the balls in the drum, both the numbered ones and the prize balls, will be brand new and used for the very first time on draw day.

Loterías president Jesús Huerta marked the occasion by noting that this year's draw celebrates 214 years of history. "Only by staying true to our essence and contributing our bit to society will we be able to maintain a Lottery that unites us around shared values and that maintains this magic of the draw," he said.

The summer advertising campaign has also launched, and it's worth watching. Two short films, both shot in Mallorca, anchor this year's messaging around the idea that the best dreams are the ones you share rather than keep for yourself. In the first ad, a mother sitting outside Palma's Santa Catalina Market says she'd give her winnings back to a bar owner whose family venue is being demolished. In the second, a man standing on a cliff with sea views says he'd do nothing with the land at all, just leave it exactly as it is. Both are on YouTube and they're quietly lovely.

The artwork on this year's tenth shares also has a cultural twist, featuring the central panel of the triptych The Annunciation, the Nativity and the Presentation in the Temple by the Master of the Half Figures, on loan from the Prado Museum.

Early sales are already brisk, with tourists in particular snapping up tickets to take a bit of Spanish luck home with them. Sales typically accelerate sharply in November once the main television campaign launches.

So if you've got a favourite number, now's probably a good time to get in before someone else does.

Image and Videos: Loterías y Apuestas del Estado and Ministerio de Hacienda