Since 1942, the Extraordinary National Lottery Christmas Draw has been sold in 172 million tenths. They were printed at the National Currency and Stamp Factory.
The production process starts at the beginning each year to ensure that there is no bottleneck in the manufacturing of such large numbers of tenths.
The design of the tenth edition is determined together with the State Lotteries and Betting Society. Each year, it is unique and each edition is illustrated with a different work of art. After the final results are approved, the tickets can be printed using sophisticated techniques and extremely strict security measures.
The National Currency and Stamp Factory rotary presses work 24 hours a days to print the tenths. This process is closely monitored to prevent counterfeits. The tenths printed on OCR security paper are coated with special inks to prevent any fraud.
Printing the official award lists is also a responsibility of the National Currency and Stamp Factory. This list is made possible by an anonymous team of over 40 people. It is printed through a computerized process that is fully controlled.
The official list is printed by the National Currency and Stamp Factory approximately 45 minutes after the draw ends. It is usually sent to the Lottery Administrations and Media the same day, December 22nd, 2012. . Everybody who bought a Christmas lottery ticket for the first time should use this checker to see if they are winners.
