Initially thrilled with news of a win worth €35 million in this week’s Christmas lottery, local people in the small town of Villamanín in northern Spain have been plunged into shock due to an oversight that looks to reduce the windfall.
A festival committee in the town had apparently accidentally sold more shares in official tickets with the winning number 79432 than it had previously purchased itself, according to Spanish media reports Friday.
Therefore, 45 tickets, equivalent to nine shares and more than €3.5 million, are now worthless, the Spanish daily El País reported.
This means that there is now not enough money to pay everyone in Villamanín who drew the winning number.
It is not unusual for private communities and associations to sell shares for charitable purposes. An entire official ticket costs €200, while a tenth of a ticket is available for €20.
Associations usually sell their shares for between €5 and €10. The share of the winnings, part of which is earmarked for a good cause, is correspondingly smaller.
According to El País, there is now great uncertainty in Villamanín. The festival committee has invited all holders of winning shares to a meeting on Friday.
There is already a proposal for a compromise: Everyone should give up part of their winnings so that everyone gets something. This will be decided by a majority vote.
On Monday, Spain’s iconic Christmas lottery delivered an unprecedented payout of €2.77 billion ($3.25 billion) – €70 million more than last year, making it the largest sum in the lottery’s history.
Founded more than 200 years ago, the lottery is considered the oldest in the world and is also known as the largest raffle due to the amount of money involved.
