In Sevilla, the Ángela Guerrero school’s parent committee found itself at the center of an unfortunate situation: 1,800 tickets for the traditional Christmas lottery were declared invalid. The reason was a sales error involving a reserved number, which left participants without a chance to win in one of the year’s most anticipated draws.
Parents, united in the AMPA association, organize the sale of lottery tickets among students’ families every year. This time, it concerned number 29,325, which had been pre-ordered and was supposed to be distributed exclusively through the committee. However, when AMPA representatives arrived to collect the reserved tickets, they learned that the lottery administration had already sold them to others.
Error with the number
The problem affected tickets numbered from 1 to 1,800, issued on behalf of the ‘Madre María de la Purísima’ association. After the mistake was discovered, it became clear that all these tickets had no legal standing and could not participate in the draw scheduled for December 22, 2025. The lottery administration offered an alternative number, but the available tickets for it were too few to cover all those already sold.
As a result, AMPA decided to officially cancel all disputed tickets. Buyers were promised a refund—two euros for each ticket. The association also notified the relevant authorities about the incident to prevent any misunderstandings in the future.
Refunds
The parents’ committee emphasized that refunds will be issued to everyone who purchased the canceled tickets. To receive a refund, individuals must contact the association with the relevant stub. It is important to note that even if these tickets had been winners, prizes could not have been claimed — they have been officially declared invalid and excluded from the draw.
In its statement, AMPA noted that the situation arose through no fault of their own, but due to an error by the lottery administration, which sold reserved tickets to third parties. Nevertheless, the committee took responsibility for informing all participants and organizing the refund process.
Parents’ response
The news caused confusion and disappointment among parents and students. Many had already spent money on tickets, hoping for a chance in one of the country’s most popular lotteries. Now, all they can do is request a refund and hope similar situations don’t happen again in the future.
AMPA assured that it will exercise greater control over the reservation and distribution of tickets going forward to prevent similar incidents. The association stressed that its main goal is to maintain parents’ trust and ensure transparency in all operations related to lottery ticket sales.
