On my monthly relocation and retirement tours I’m always asked about activities in which Costa Ricans engage. I always make it a point to talk about the lottery or lotería nacional. Don’t get me worng! I don’t advocate going to a casino and gambling away your hard earned money, because I never do. However, I always explain how the lottery works here, especially after many of my clients notice the venders selling the tickets on the streets and ask, “What are they selling there?”

The lottery is a part of most Costa Rican’s lives for a long time. Almost every tico I know dreams of striking it rich by winning the big Christmas lottery called EL Gordo Navideño or Premio Mayor (grand prize). There are also weekly lotteries which offer a smaller payoff. The results can be found in the newspapers.

People use their date of birth, their lucky number, numbers and symbols from their dreams, etc. in order to select they lottery numbers they will play.

The lottery is a Costa Rican tradition and has been around since 1800s when the first drawing was held. In 1845 Nazarino Toledo, the head of a charity, requested the government start a public lottery to raise funds for the construction of the San Juan de Dios Hospital. Shortly after the government initiated a monthly lottery to raise money. However, it wasn’t until 1885 that the lottery officially began on a more regular basis.

In December of 1960 the Gordo Navideño was held. It wasn’t until 1979 that the first million colón prize was offered. In 1986 the largest prize was 5 million colónes. Today the prizes are larger and lottery tickets are more colorful. A large portion of the money collected still goes to charity and the remainder is given to the respective winners.