The EuroMillions lottery is one of the most popular and widely played lotteries in Europe. It is a transnational lottery that was launched in 2004 as a collaboration between various European countries. EuroMillions offers some of the biggest jackpots in the world, often worth over €100 million. With so many countries participating, EuroMillions draws attract players from all across the continent hoping to get lucky and win big.
What is EuroMillions?
EuroMillions is a multi-jurisdictional lottery game that was launched on February 7, 2004. It is played across nine European countries – the UK, France, Spain, Austria, Belgium, Ireland, Luxembourg, Portugal and Switzerland. These participating countries formed the EuroMillions structure as a way to offer bigger jackpots by pooling ticket sales across countries.
EuroMillions draws take place every Tuesday and Friday evening in Paris. During each draw, five main numbers between 1 and 50 are drawn, along with two additional ‘lucky star’ numbers between 1 and 12. To win the jackpot, players must match all five main numbers and both lucky stars. There are also smaller prizes for matching just some of the numbers.
The odds of winning the EuroMillions jackpot are 1 in 139,838,160. This makes the EuroMillions lottery one of the toughest to win, but also one of the most tempting with its massive multimillion euro prizes.
How to Play EuroMillions
Playing EuroMillions is easy. lottery players simply pick five main numbers and two lucky star numbers, either by selecting them manually or going for a Lucky Dip to get automatically generated numbers.
There are a number of ways to purchase EuroMillions tickets:
– In person at authorized lottery retailers
– Online through authorized lottery websites and apps
– Via subscription where numbers are automatically entered into future draws
The cost of EuroMillions tickets varies slightly across the participating countries, ranging from €2.50-€3 per line. Players can enter for multiple draws in advance if desired.
Results are displayed shortly after the draws take place every Tuesday and Friday night. Winners can claim their EuroMillions prizes up to 180 days after the draw date. Prizes must be claimed and validated in the country where the winning ticket was purchased.
Participating Countries
Currently, nine European countries participate in EuroMillions:
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom was one of the original participants that helped establish EuroMillions in 2004. As Europe’s largest lottery market, the UK has the most EuroMillions ticket sales.
EuroMillions tickets can be purchased in person at over 35,000 authorized retailers across the UK. The National Lottery website and app are also popular ways for Brits to enter the lottery online.
The cost of EuroMillions tickets in the UK is £2.50 per line. The UK has produced some record-breaking winners over the years, including a £195 million jackpot won in July 2022 – the biggest National Lottery win of all time.
France
France was another founding member of the EuroMillions in 2004. The country hosts the EuroMillions draws at the studio of the Française des Jeux in Paris.
Around 34,000 licensed lottery outlets sell EuroMillions tickets across the country. The Française des Jeux website and mobile apps are available for online play.
In France, EuroMillions tickets cost €2.50 each. France has had several jackpot winners over the years and previously held the record for the biggest EuroMillions prize – €220 million won in December 2021.
Spain
Spain is one of the original participants in EuroMillions. Within the country, the lottery is operated by Loterías y Apuestas del Estado.
Spaniards can enter EuroMillions by visiting any of the 11,000+ authorized retailers across the country. Online play is available via the official Spanish lottery website.
The cost of EuroMillions tickets in Spain is €2.50. Spain has produced several massive jackpot winners, including €190 million in October 2021 and €137 million in April 2022.
Austria
Austria was part of the initial group that formed EuroMillions in 2004. The lottery is run by the Österreichische Lotterien.
Players in Austria can buy EuroMillions tickets in-person at over 5,000 retail sales points or via the Österreichische Lotterien website and mobile app.
Tickets cost €2.50 in Austria. The country has had a few major EuroMillions winners over the years, including a €44 million jackpot in August 2020.
Belgium
Belgium joined EuroMillions at its inception in 2004. The National Lottery of Belgium operates the popular lottery.
There are approximately 5,300 licensed lottery shops across Belgium selling EuroMillions tickets in-person. Belgians can also play online using the National Lottery’s website or mobile apps.
The standard ticket price is €2.50 in Belgium. Some of Belgium’s biggest EuroMillions winners include €168 million in October 2016 and €163 million in June 2017.
Ireland
Ireland was one of the original EuroMillions members. The lottery is run by Premier Lotteries Ireland.
Tickets can be purchased in-person at any of Ireland’s 3,250 National Lottery agents. The lottery also offers online play via its website and mobile app.
It costs €2.50 per EuroMillions line in Ireland. The Emerald Isle has produced several massive jackpot winners over the years, including the second biggest EuroMillions prize ever – €175 million won in February 2019.
Luxembourg
Luxembourg was part of the initial EuroMillions lineup back in 2004. The lottery is operated by Loterie Nationale Luxembourg.
In Luxembourg, EuroMillions tickets can be purchased in-person from one of 500+ sales points located across the country. An online ticketing platform is also available.
Tickets cost €2.50 each in Luxembourg. Despite its small size, Luxembourg has managed to produce some big EuroMillions winners, including €26.9 million in July 2016.
Portugal
Portugal joined EuroMillions when the transnational lottery first began in 2004. The lottery is run by Departamento de Jogos da Santa Casa da Misericórdia de Lisboa.
EuroMillions tickets can be purchased in person at over 11,500 physical sales outlets across Portugal. Online play is available through the official Portuguese lottery website.
The standard ticket price is €2.50 in Portugal. The country has seen several jackpot winners over the years, with the biggest being €190 million in October 2014.
Switzerland
Switzerland rounds out the list of original EuroMillions members, having been part of the lottery since its inception in 2004. Swisslos operates EuroMillions in Switzerland.
In the Swiss Confederation, EuroMillions tickets can be purchased at one of over 6,500 retailers. There is also an online ticketing platform available.
Tickets cost CHF 3.50 each in Switzerland, equivalent to around €3. The largest Swiss winner to date claimed a CHF 48 million (€45 million) EuroMillions prize in August 2022.
Major EuroMillions Jackpots
Over its nearly two decades of existence, EuroMillions has awarded some truly staggering jackpot prizes. Here are some of the biggest jackpots from EuroMillions history:
| Jackpot Amount | Date | Winner’s Country |
|---|---|---|
| €220 million | December 2021 | France |
| €210 million | February 2022 | UK |
| €190 million | October 2021 | Spain |
| €190 million | July 2022 | UK |
| €185 million | May 2022 | UK |
As displayed, some of the biggest jackpots have been won in the UK, France and Spain – which are respectively the largest EuroMillions markets. However, giant prizes can be won anywhere across the participating countries.
These enormous EuroMillions jackpots demonstrate the advantage of the pooled prize fund across countries. With more ticket sales, the top prizes grow bigger for players all over Europe.
EuroMillions Special Draws
Aside from the regular EuroMillions draws held every Tuesday and Friday, occasionally there are special edition superdraws with guaranteed mega jackpots up for grabs. These are held a few times per year to increase anticipation and excitement among players.
Some of the upcoming planned EuroMillions superdraw dates include:
- Friday March 31, 2023 – €130 million guaranteed jackpot
- Friday June 23, 2023 – €140 million guaranteed jackpot
- Friday September 22, 2023 – €130 million guaranteed jackpot
- Friday December 8, 2023 – €180 million guaranteed jackpot
These superdraws are heavily marketed in the weeks leading up to help drive interest and ticket sales across all participating countries. With nine nations playing, the special jackpots can rapidly reach record-breaking amounts.
Other EuroMillions Prize Tiers
The jackpot isn’t the only prize available in EuroMillions. The lottery also offers several secondary prize tiers with smaller but still substantial winnings:
- Match 5 main numbers + 1 lucky star – This wins a multimillion euro prize that varies based on ticket sales and number of winners. It is the second biggest prize in EuroMillions.
- Match 5 main numbers – Wins a prize starting around €200,000 and rising significantly if no one matches all five numbers and two stars. The specific amount depends on the number of winners and where the ticket was purchased.
- Match 4 main numbers + 2 lucky stars – Average win is €2,000 – €3,000.
- Match 4 main numbers + 1 lucky star – Wins around €100 – €500.
- Match 3 main numbers + 2 lucky stars – Average prize is €50 – €100.
- Match 4 main numbers – Wins around €25 – €50.
- Match 2 main numbers + 2 lucky stars – Wins around €10 – €20.
- Match 3 main numbers + 1 lucky star – Wins around €5 – €15.
- Match 3 main numbers – Wins around €5 – €10.
- Match 1 main number + 2 lucky stars – Wins around €4.
- Match 2 main numbers + 1 lucky star – Wins around €3.
So even if the jackpot is elusive, EuroMillions offers plenty of ways to win smaller amounts that can still be life changing. The odds also increase dramatically for matching just a portion of the winning numbers.
Changes Coming in 2023
Starting in February 2023, some exciting changes are coming to EuroMillions to help create bigger prizes and more millionaires:
- The ticket price will increase from €2.50 to €3 per line.
- The starting guaranteed jackpot will increase from €17 million to €20 million.
- The jackpot cap will rise from €250 million to €300 million.
- More prizes will be allocated to the lower tiers making it easier to win smaller amounts.
- A new “€1 million raffle” will be added to each draw, with one guaranteed millionaire made from a raffle code printed on each ticket bought.
These changes have been approved by all participating lottery operators. The slight ticket price increase will help fund the new prize structure. EuroMillions is hopeful that the reforms will create more big winners across the different prize tiers.
Past Scandals
With so much money up for grabs, EuroMillions has unfortunately seen some controversial scandals over the years:
- In May 2022, multiple people were arrested in Belgium over alleged hacking of the EuroMillions draw system to predict winning numbers.
- In April 2018, a previous EuroMillions winner from the UK was jailed for claiming a £2.5 million prize with a fraudulent ticket.
- In 2016, a group of lottery fixers from Italy were convicted of cheating the EuroMillions system out of €32 million using hacked software.
- In 2013, there were reports that a Spanish lottery vendor forged a €6.3 million winning EuroMillions ticket and tried to claim the prize.
Although very rare, these incidents underline the strict security around lottery draws and need to have a valid ticket to claim any prizes. Lottery corruption is taken extremely seriously by authorities and can result in heavy fines or jail time.
Taxation of Winnings
One important factor for EuroMillions players to note is taxes. Lottery winnings are subject to income tax in most participating countries:
- UK – No taxes on lottery winnings
- France – Winnings over €50,000 taxed at 20%
- Spain – Prizes over €40,000 taxed at 20%
- Austria – Winnings over €1,000 taxed at 25%
- Belgium – Tax of 30% applied to prizes over €100,000
- Ireland – Winnings over €500 taxed at 20%
- Luxembourg – 10% tax on lottery prizes
- Portugal – Top prizes taxed at 35%, other tiers at 20%
- Switzerland – Tax-free lottery winnings
So while EuroMillions offers massive, multi-million prizes, players don’t always get to keep the full amount. Taxes can claim a significant portion, especially for the biggest jackpots.
Unclaimed Prizes
With so many different lottery operators across the participating countries, sometimes EuroMillions prizes go unclaimed:
- As of October 2022, there is an unclaimed €1 million raffle prize from a ticket purchased in France.
- In August 2021, a €1 million EuroMillions prize expired in Belgium after no one came forward with the winning ticket.
- In 2020, two €1 million raffle prizes went unclaimed in Ireland.
- A €28.6 million jackpot winning ticket sold in the UK expired in June 2012 with no one claiming the prize.
Lottery operators make significant efforts to track down mystery winners. But if no one comes forward with a valid ticket before the claim expiration – typically 180 days in most countries – the top prizes go back into the prize fund to boost future jackpots.
Conclusion
EuroMillions offers Europeans the chance to play for mutli-million jackpots every week. Currently, nine countries participate- the UK, France, Spain, Austria, Belgium, Ireland, Luxembourg, Portugal and Switzerland. Between them, they have produced numerous massive EuroMillions winners over the years.
Tickets can be purchased in person and online in each participating country. While the odds of hitting the jackpot are long, EuroMillions offers many secondary prizes for matching some of the numbers. Exciting changes are happening in 2023 to increase jackpots and create more guaranteed millionaires through a special raffle.
EuroMillions shows no signs of slowing down. With more countries potentially joining in the future, the transnational lottery is likely to continue breaking jackpot records for lucky players across Europe.