The Only Mexican Lottery Guide You’ll Ever Need

Lottery games have been around and have remained popular in Mexico since the 18th century. Mexican lotteries give players the best of both worlds, offering some of Latin America’s biggest prizes, as well as some of the most affordable tickets on the market, like the twice daily Chispazo! Read our guide to learn all about how you can play and win them online from anywhere in the world!


Table of Contents:


 

Which Mexican Lottery Has The Best Odds?

Mexican lottery odds

Mexico’s Chispazo by far has the most favourable odds of winning the lottery out of all our Mexican draws! At just 1:98,280, Chispazo also comes in first place at TheLotter Texas for the best jackpot winning odds followed by Japan's Mini Lotto at 1:169,911. While your chances of winning are great, it does come at a price. Chispazo is a daily lottery that offers the smallest prizes and starting jackpot out of the trio. If you’re interested in playing for bigger prizes and don’t mind the odds of winning being a little more difficult, Melate Retro could be “The One”. Last but not least, we have Mexico’s biggest lottery, Melate. While you might be put off by Melate’s difficult odds at first, they come along with the biggest jackpot prizes in the country! To win the Tris Clásico jackpot with the Directa 5 play type, the odds are 1 in 100,000.

Check out the prize-winning odds below:

Lottery Match Winning Odds

Melate

6/56

1:32,468,436

Melate Retro

6/39

1:3,262,623

Chispazo

5/28

1:98,280

Tris Clásico

Directa 5

1:100,000

Tris Clásico

Final

1:10

Tris Clásico

Inicial

1:10

Tris Clásico

Par Final

1:100

Tris Clásico

Par Inicial

1:100


On TheLotter Texas, you'll find these lotteries under different names. Continue reading to find out more.

 

Which Mexican Lottery Has the Cheapest Tickets?

Ready to play? If you’re on a budget, then Mexican lotteries will be right up your alley! Melate Retro and Chispazo tie for the most affordable Mexican lottery tickets, although Melate isn’t far behind. Tris Clásico is here for you if you want to spice things up with several play types.

If you want to get even more savings when you play Mexican lotteries, try playing with a multi-draw package for up to 25% off your purchase. This option will enter you in a set amount of consecutive draws (up to 52) while saving you a pretty penny! Another great option is subscribing. A Subscription to any lottery at TheLotter Texas will enter you into every draw and award you every 7th ticket totally free of charge.

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What Are The Biggest Mexican Lottery Jackpots?

Biggest Mexican jackpots

Mexico’s top jackpots all come from Melate - the country’s biggest draw! So, how much were they? Melate’s record was set in July 2013, when the staggering MXN 639.5 million (US$ 50.1 million) Melate jackpot was won. This is also the third-largest lottery prize ever awarded in Latin America to date! In September 2015 another extraordinary prize was on the way to breaking that record before it fell at MXN 535 million (approximately US$ 32.3 million).

 

Are Mexican Lottery Prizes Taxed?

Yes. While you may not be getting your Mexican lottery prizes 100% tax-free, Mexico has the lowest tax rate in Latin America, set at just 7%. Taxes are deducted directly by the lottery organization and the local or federal government where the lottery is drawn. Upon winning with TheLotter Texas, you will receive the full amount of your prize winnings after the tax has been deducted as TheLotter Texas does not charge any commission on lottery prizes!

 

Which Mexican Lotteries Can You Play Online?

When you buy official lottery tickets online at theLotter, you can play four of Mexico’s most exciting lotteries: Melate, Melate Retro, Tris Clásico, and Chispazo. Each of them have unique features that make them must-play lotteries amongst fans in Mexico and across the globe. On theLotter, these draws are listed as Mexlotto (Melate), Mexlotto Vintage (Melate Retro), Triple Chance Clásico (Tris Clásico), and Chispa Boom (Chispazo).

Once you complete your play form, your purchase is matched with official lottery tickets. If your numbers match the winning ones, you'll win the same prize as awarded by the official lottery.

Playing Mexican lotteries online

Melate (Mexlotto)

Mexico’s most popular lottery is also its biggest! Mexico Melate reigns supreme when it comes to the region’s jackpots, with a minimum prize of MXN 30 million that can grow to incredible heights before it's won. Since its launch in 1984, this lottery has awarded some of the country’s biggest jackpot prizes including a record MXN 639.5 million (US$ 50.1 million) prize won in July 2013! 


HOW TO PLAY

Mexico Melate is played by selecting six numbers from 1-56. This game has the widest guess range on the list. While this definitely makes it more of a challenge to win, the chance of winning a Melate jackpot is worth it! At the time of the draw, an additional number is drawn from the same drum to give you more chances of winning a Melate prize! This bonus number creates four of the draw’s prize divisions.

To win the Melate jackpot prize, all six of the main numbers selected in the draw must match those on your ticket. See if you’re a winner of one of the draw’s nine prize categories by checking the Mexico Melate results every Wednesday, Friday, and Sunday at 21:15 Mexico City time shortly after the draw.

Check out the prize-winning odds below:

Prize Division Match Odds

1

6

1:32,468,436

2

5+1

1:5,411,406

3

5

1:110,437

4

4+1

1:44,175

5

4

1:1,840

6

3+1

1:1,380

7

3

1:88

8

2+1

1:117

9

2

1:10

 

Melate Retro (Mexlotto Vintage)

Introduced to the public in 2010, Melate Retro is the newest lottery on our list. Fun fact: The word “Retro” derives from the draw having Melate’s original 6/39 format! Playing Melate Retro will give you a chance at winning from seven exciting prize divisions with an exciting top prize that starts at a minimum MXN 5 million that can keep getting bigger with each rollover.

HOW TO PLAY

Enter the next Melate Retro draw by filling out your entry with 6 numbers from the guess range of 1-39. Like Melate, this Mexican lottery also has a bonus number that is selected at the draw. It creates three of the seven prize divisions - the second, sixth, and seventh.

You can win the Melate Retro jackpot prize by matching all six numbers selected in the draw. Didn’t match it? You have another six prize categories to win from by making a partial match of the winning numbers with or without the bonus number! See all the ways you can claim a prize in the table below and be sure to check the Mexico Melate Retro results shortly after each draw on Tuesday and Saturday at 21:15 Mexico City time.



Prize Division Match Odds

1

6

1:3,262,623

2

5+1

1:543,770

3

5

1:16,993

4

4

1:438

5

3

1:33

6

3+1

1:44

7

2+1

1:15

 

Chispazo (Chispa Boom)

Chispazo may be the smallest lottery of the bunch, but it more than makes up for it by having incredible odds of just 1:98,280, giving you by far the best chance of winning on the entire site!. Another thing that makes Chispazo so unique is that it not only holds daily draws, but they’re staged twice a day! That gives you two chances of winning every day of the week.

HOW TO PLAY

The Mexican Chispazo is easy to win and even easier to play! All you need to do is pick five numbers from 1-28. Match all five, and you’ve just won the Mexico Chispazo jackpot. As the jackpot amount is dependent on ticket sales, it can range from MXN 60,000 to MXN 200,000 or more. If it’s not won, the whole amount is automatically split amongst the next highest prize division winners. This means that you don’t even have to match all the numbers to win a Mexican jackpot prize! You also can claim one of the lottery’s three secondary prizes by matching 4,3, or 2 of the winning numbers. See if you’ve won by checking the Mexico Chispazo results shortly after each draw!


Didn’t win anything? No worries. Another draw will always be right around the corner! Chispazo holds draws every day of the week at 15:00 and 21:15 Mexico City time.

Prize Division Match Odds

1

5

1:98,280

2

4

1:855

3

3

1:39

4

2

1:6


 

Tris Clásico (Triple Chance Clásico)

Tris Clásico takes place daily at 21:15 local time in Mexico. Unlike other Mexican lotteries on the site, this exciting draw features multiple play types, each possessing its own payout options (the highest payout can multiply your wager by MXN 50,000!).

HOW TO PLAY

To play Tris Clásico, select your play type, choose up to 5 numbers (ranging from 0 to 9), and follow the on-screen steps until your order has been confirmed. The numbers in your entry vary depending on the play type; for instance, ‘Directa 5’ (Straight) requires you to select 5 numbers.



Once completed, one of our agents will purchase your corresponding Tris Clásico Mexico tickets. To win a prize, the numbers on your entry must match the drawn numbers. Check the results page to see if you’ve won shortly after the draws are held.


Play Type Winning Odds

Directa de 5 (Straight)

1:100,000

De par inicial o final (Front or Back Pair)

1:100

De número inicial o final (First or Last Digit)

1:100,000

 

Important Milestones In Mexico’s Lottery History

Mexican lottery history

1770 - The National Lottery was founded by a royal mandate on August 7, 1770, by the Bourbon King Carlos III of Spain who named it Real Lotería General de la Nueva España. At the time, it was played almost exclusively by the upper-class of New Spain and only became popular amongst the general public in the mid-1800s.

1771 - The first lottery draw took place in current-day Mexico City on May 13, 1771, offering a prize worth approximately MXN 84,000 current-day pesos. Due to the lottery’s initial success, many raffles and lotteries were created throughout the region as a way to gather resources for convents, parishes, schools, and hospitals.

1810-1821 - During the War of Independence, the lottery played a fundamental role in raising funds to pay for the colonial defence and was a form of entertainment for soldiers who spread its popularity.

<1920 - On 16 August 1920, Mexico’s national lottery was baptized with the present-day name of Lotería Nacional para la Asistencia Pública (National Lottery for Public Assistance).

1984 - Mexico’s first modern draw game that we know and love was introduced. Its name was “Melate”. Today, Mexico offers a total of seven exciting lottery games.

 

Mexican Lottery Prize Winners At TheLotter Texas

Mexican lottery prize winners

Anyone can win a Mexican lottery prize when they play online. Just ask our winners! Chispazo has been a very lucky lottery for players at TheLotter Texas, and several of our players have even won the jackpot prize! A. from Mexico won MXN 45,041.09 (approximately US$ 2,162) in August 2019; S. from Oman won MXN 181,592.56 (approximately US$ 8,171) in August 2020; J. from Hungary won MXN 145,885.12 (approximately US$ 6,478.67) in February 2021, and V. from Russia won MXN 68,216.62 (approximately US$ 3,424) in April 2021.

Our biggest Chispazo winner to date is Nataliia from Ukraine, who previously won a US$1 million second prize playing US Mega Millions in September 2017! She won a MXN 224,063.68 (approximately US$11,367.8) Chispazo jackpot in September 2019.

As you can see, you don’t have to travel to Mexico to take part in the country’s exciting lotteries! When you play online at TheLotter Texas, the world’s leading ticket messenger service, you can buy official lottery tickets to over 50 international lottery draws from across the globe. Love Latin American lotteries? Feel free to play in some of the region’s most popular draws, including Chile Clasico, and Peru Tinka. You can also see where it all started by checking out our Spanish Lottery Guide!