ONCE
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ONCE (pronounced own-say), or Organización Nacional de Ciegos Españoles, is a Spanish national charity lottery founded on December 13 1938 to raise funds and provide services for the blind. The word once in the Spanish language means eleven.
ONCE also sponsors one of the leading cycling teams in the Tour de France. After the 2003 season they stopped with the team, for years recognised as one of the best in cycling.
In 1988 ONCE established the foundation Fundación ONCE to promote sporting events for people of any disability group. The foundation also provides professional training and employment, works to eliminate architectural, urban and communication barriers and promotes 'Digital Solidarity' - web-based services for people with disabilities.
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The Cupón
One of the most familiar aspects of ONCE, is the "Cupón", which has become a very common part of Spanish "way-of-life". This is the main way which ONCE raises its funds and can carry huge monetary prizes. The draw has different coupons for different days of the week, and has special coupons with higher prizes, usually via season, Spring (Primavera), Summer (Verano) and so on. The draw occurs every night on the Spanish television channel Antena3.
The basic designs stay the same on each day, but the theme of the Coupon changes, to correspond to current events, for example, when the Euro became legal tender. Due to this, collecting old coupons has become a hobby, in Spain.
How it Works
The Coupon is drawn as a 5-digit number and a Series Number. Prizes vary from how many of the 5 digits your have, or the amount of numbers you have plus the Series number. The digits have to be in order to win, from left to right. The lowest prize is effectively a refund of 1,50€, that was used to purchese your ticket.
Where to buy
ONCE Coupons are sold in ONCE Kiosks. These are green boxes (can sometimes be a different colour), and can be clearly identified by the word "ONCE", which can be found in public areas, like airports, parks and supermarkets. Stands are set-up in some areas. The kiosks are mainly used as a way to employ the blind or partially-blind, which is one of the main goals of ONCE.
Cupon Diario
ONCE-cupondiario.jpg
(Daily Coupon) The Daily Coupon is drawn daily and is avalible for 1,00€, between Monday and Friday. Prizes are broken down as follows:
- 1,50€ prize for last or first numbers, 540,000 Prizes
External links
- ONCE's web page (http://www.once.es/)
- Spanish Lotteries FAQ (http://costablancaexpats.net/pats/lottery.txt)