A lottery showered $1.1 billion on ticket holders in five regions of Spain on Sunday, in the midst of a deep recession and high unemployment.

People wait for the start of the draw at Madrid's Teatro Real opera house during Spain's bumper Christmas lottery draw known as El Gordo, or The Fat One, in Madrid, Spain, Friday, Dec. 22, 2023.

Madrid – For some lucky lottery ticket holders in Spain, there was nothing childish about the "El Nino" lottery. On Sunday the lottery showered €840 million ($1.1 billion) on three ticket ...

Spain’s 200-year-old holiday lottery "The Fat One" delivered a hefty prize again this year, with over $2.8 billion in prizes warbled out by school children and watched live around the world.

Lucky holders of 20-euro tickets with the number 88008 are celebrating. They have each won 400,000 euros ($440,000), in the top prize of Spain's huge Christmas lottery.

FILE - Lottery sellers celebrate in front of their shop after selling a winning ticket of the first prize of Spain's Christmas lottery ''El Gordo'' of calle Aranal de Madrid, on Dec. 22, 2022.

Spain's annual Christmas lottery paid our $2.2 billion to thousands of winners . The biggest prize -- El Gordo -- was won by residents in Alcala de Henares.

The Christmas lottery was established in 1812 by King Carlos III of Naples to raise funds for charity. It has been held every year since, including the era of Francisco Franco’s fascist regime.

Spain set up its national lottery as a charity in 1763, during the reign of King Carlos III, but later its objective shifted toward filling state coffers.

Lottery offices are government sponsored, but individual owners make 4 percent commission on each ticket sold. And his office sells almost 19 percent of all lottery tickets sold in Spain.