La Quiniela: Spain's National Football Pools Game

La Quiniela is Spain's iconic football prediction game—running since 1946, operated by the National Sports Council (CSD). ~15M play weekly.

How It Works

• 15 matches per ticket (since 2019–20 season)
• Predict each: 1 (home win), X (draw), 2 (away win)
• Can leave blank (no points)

Scoring

• Correct result: 1 point
• Correct draw: 0.5 points
• Blank: 0 points

Prizes

• 15 pts: 1st prize (~€1M+, varies by winners)
• 14 pts: 2nd prize
• 13–10 pts: descending tiers
• Prize pool split among winners per tier (pari-mutuel)

Cultural Role

Weekly ritual: bars, workplaces, families debate picks. "El pleno al 15" (perfect score) is national news. Revenue funds grassroots sport via CSD.

Not gambling in Spanish law—classified as "skill game." But odds are steep: 3¹⁵ = 14.3M combinations.