Have you ever wondered where the lottery originated?
So do we, and that's the story.
The origins of the Quiniela are in Santander. Yes, that's right, the beloved lottery that has accompanied and continues to accompany us football fans was born in the bar "La Callealtera" in Santander, in 1929. Curiously, that same year saw the first edition of the top tier of the Spanish leagues, the Primera División, with only ten teams.
The story is truly peculiar. It all began in a humble fisherman's tavern where young people played soccer in the courtyard and also held cockfights. Manuel González Lavín, one of the brothers who ran this bar, also known as Casa Sota, is credited with inventing this system, so deeply rooted in Spanish popular culture.
At that time, some customers would gamble their Sunday coffees trying to guess the results of the matches, which over time became routine and eventually became a common practice at "La Callealtera." One participant had the idea of launching a fundraiser that would be won by whoever got closest to the league results, which helped attract more fans to the establishment. By the end of the season, around 100 people were already participating in the pools regularly.
The lottery, which originated in Santander, was initially known as the "Football Bag" because the winnings were kept in a bag and given only to the winner. A committee was created, and Manuel González drafted regulations to record each and every rule and instruction. After all the matches concluded, the committee recorded the correct guesses during a lengthy process that could take more than ten hours. Curiously, the club did not receive any money; everything went entirely to the prizes.
The initiative of this Cantabrian bar eventually attracted more fans, mainly Racing fans, and delegations were sent from different cities in Spain to inquire about the innovative system. At that time, women didn't frequent these types of establishments as much as men, but they began to come to the bar to fill out their betting pools and try their luck.
So much money began to be moved that the lottery tickets began to be paid into the Treasury two years after their inception, in 1931. In those times of need, the lottery ticket represented a great dream for the population, and everyone wanted to fill it out and try their luck. The naming issue was somewhat complex, because in the beginning it was known as "Bolsa de Fútbol" (Football Bag), but it didn't quite catch on in popular slang; later it was called "Quintuple" (Quintuple), since only five matches were played per matchday, but eventually the name evolved into the commonly known "Quiniela" (Quintuple).
Only the Civil War was able to interrupt the lottery, which began as an idea in a humble establishment, but eventually became a source of hope and excitement for the population.
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