What happened to the Villamanín winners' Christmas lottery money?

The festival committee of Villamanín cashed the 2013 Christmas Lottery El Rellenito prize and did not distribute the money among the residents who had bought shares. Several affected residents filed complaints and the courts ordered those responsible to repay the amounts.

The **2013** Christmas El Rellenito fell in **Villamanín**, a municipality in the mountains of **León**, near **Babia**. The winning number, **71198**, was sold in shares through the village's festival committee. Up to that point, the usual story of any December. The problem came afterwards.

## Who cashed the prize and who was left without it

The festival committee had issued shares to fund the municipality's festivities. Many residents bought their ticket or slip convinced that, if it won, the money would be shared out. It won. And the money did not reach everyone.

According to the complaints filed, those in charge of the committee cashed the prize at the bank and did not distribute it among the buyers of shares. The total amount of that year's El Rellenito was **4 million euros** per series. The shares issued by the committee accounted for part of that prize.

## The legal route and the compensation

Those affected took the case to court. The courts ordered the committee members to repay the corresponding amounts to the buyers of shares. It was not a quick process. The court rulings established that those who had purchased slips were entitled to their share of the prize.

The case left an uncomfortable question: who is accountable when a festival committee handles residents' money without the safeguards of a financial institution? The legal answer is clear, but recovering the money depends on the solvency of those convicted.

## What is clear for future buyers

Shares issued by festival committees, unions or associations do not have the same protection as a ticket bought at an official lottery office. If the committee does not distribute the prize, the buyer must claim through the courts. And winning does not guarantee getting paid.

The story of **Villamanín** is repeated every Christmas in conversations at the bar. El Rellenito wins, someone cashes it, and the rest look on. The difference is that here there was a complaint, a trial and a conviction. That does not always happen.