A transnational lottery that has quickly become one of the best-known games in the world, EuroMillions regularly produces huge jackpots.
With a loyal following all across Europe and beyond, this game regularly sees upwards of 110 million players taking part in its draws.
In this guide, we’ll tell you everything you need to know about how this exciting game works and how you can buy EuroMillions tickets online.
About EuroMillions
EuroMillions was created in 2004 when France, Spain and the UK joined together to offer a transnational lottery. The first draw took place on February 13, 2004.
The game became available in Austria, Belgium, Ireland, Luxembourg, Portugal and Switzerland in October 2004.
It is also available in the principalities of Andorra, Monaco and Lichtenstein and in the Isle of Man.
Ticket prices and games vary slightly by country.
EuroMillions Draws
EuroMillions is a bi-weekly lotto game with draws taking place every Tuesday and Friday night at 8:45 pm CET in Paris.
Official results are posted online around 11 pm the evening of the draws.
The games consist of five numbers selected from a pool of numbers from 1 to 50, and two Lucky Star bonus numbers selected from a pool from 1 to 12.
A player must match the five regular numbers and both Lucky Star numbers to win the jackpot.
How to Play EuroMillions
Players must select five main numbers and two lucky stars numbers per ticket.
There are no restrictions on the nationality of the buyer. Tourists and non-residents are able to play so long as they meet the minimum age requirement of the country where they are purchasing the ticket.
EuroMillions tickets vary by country, though a standard ticket costs €2.50 per line.
Players can purchase tickets at licensed stores or buy lottery tickets online through a lotto agent website.
Some countries also offer add-on games. In Ireland, for example, players can add an extra line called Plus for an additional €1 per line. The top prize for this game is €500,000 each week.
UK players also have a chance at a £1,000,000 weekly prize through the Millionaire Maker draw that occurs every Tuesday. Each of these EuroMillions tickets costs £2.50.
Tickets in France also include a non-optional game called My Million, which increases the price per ticket by €0.50 per line.
Finally, Portugal has a similar non-optional game called M1lhão that accounts for €0.30 of the €2.50 ticket price.
EuroMillions Prizes and Odds
EuroMillions has an incredible 13 prize tiers, and the prize amounts per tier are based on a certain percentage of the prize fund.
The prize fund is 50% of ticket sales for that draw, and the minimum jackpot prize is €17 million-which is excellent.
Like its main competitor Eurojackpot, the EuroMillions jackpot rolls over if there are no winners.
A rule change in early 2021 set the jackpot cap at €220 million instead of the €190 million.
The rule stated that after the jackpot reached this amount, it would continue until there was a winner or remain at that amount for five draws.
If there were no winners on the fifth draw, the prize would be shared by winners in the lower tier.
Once this occurred, the next cycle had a maximum jackpot of €210,000,000 for five draws.
This cycle continued, increasing by €10,000,000 each cycle, and it is now at €220 million. This will continue it reaches a maximum of €250,000,000.
,EuroMillions occasionally holds Event Draws and Super Draws, which are draws that are set to a guaranteed jackpot amount, typically of €100,000,000.
Jackpots for Super Draws roll over to the next draw if there is no winner. Meanwhile, jackpots for Event Draws are split between winners in the next tier if there is no winner.
EuroMillions' jackpot odds are 1 in 139,838,160, which are pretty tough. However, the best EuroMillions syndicates available online can improve these odds to as little as 1 in 138,728.
Moreover, players have a pretty good 1 in 13 chance of winning any prize during a draw.
The odds for each prize tier are as follows:
Numbers Matched | Odds of Winning | Expected Winnings |
5 + 2 | 1 in 139,838,160 | Jackpot |
5 + 1 | 1 in 6,991,908 | €200,738 |
5 | 1 in 3,107,515 | €20,851 |
4 + 2 | 1 in 621,503 | €1,299 |
4 + 1 | 1 in 31,075 | €120 |
3 + 2 | 1 in 14,125 | €57 |
4 | 1 in 13,811 | €39 |
2 + 2 | 1 in 985 | €14 |
3 + 1 | 1 in 706 | €11 |
3 | 1 in 314 | €9 |
1 + 2 | 1 in 188 | €7 |
2 + 1 | 1 in 49 | €6 |
2 | 1 in 22 | €4 |
Claiming EuroMillions Prizes
All EuroMillions prizes, including the jackpot, are paid out as a lump sum.
Prizes are also tax-free, except to participants in Switzerland, Spain and Portugal.
However, players who purchase tickets from online lottery sites that operate privately may be subject to the tax laws of their own country.
The amount of time players have to claim their prize varies by country. Players in Austria receive a period of 28 days from the draw date, while players in France, Monaco and Luxembourg receive 60 days.
Notable EuroMillions Winners
With such high jackpot caps, there have been a lot of happy winners of this game.
The biggest jackpot so far was €210 million, and it was won on February 26, 2021.
The previous cap amount of €190,000,000 has been won on four separate occasions-in October 2017, October 2019, October 2014 and August 2012-all to single winners.
EuroMillions-Should You Play?
There’s no doubt about it: EuroMillions is one of the biggest and most popular lotteries in the world.
As a result, it's readily available on pretty much all the best lottery sites.
Though there is a jackpot cap, it is set high enough that the prize remains impressive-if you’re lucky enough to beat the challenging odds.
For players happy to win any prize, the 1 in 13 overall odds make this popular lottery an incredibly appealing game to any player.
Nancy