Euro Millions Lottery

Euro Millions is one of the biggest lottery games in the world, with no less than nine European countries participating. The Euro Millions draw itself takes place every Tuesday and Friday and the game boasts a minimum jackpot of €15 million.

The Euro Millions Lottery was launched on Friday 13 February, 2004 by three founding nations – France, Spain and the United Kingdom. Within a matter of months another six Euro Millions countries got involved, namely Austria, Belgium, Ireland, Luxembourg, Portugal and Switzerland. The Euro Millions Lottery matrix changed on 10 May 2011, from a 5/50 and 2/9 to a 5/50 and 2/11, along with the addition of a new prize tier, the Match 2.

The Euro Millions game itself is easy to play. Euro Millions Participants need to select five numbers from the range 1 to 50 and two supplementary numbers (referred to as Lucky Stars) from the range 1 to 11. Euro Millions Players have to match all five main numbers and both Lucky Stars to win the jackpot.

The odds of winning the Euro Millions jackpot are 1 in 116,531,800, so it sometimes happens that nobody wins it outright. In that event the Euro Millions jackpot is rolled over and added to the jackpot fund for the next Euro Millions draw.

This rollover principle has created some staggering Euro Millions jackpots in the past, and the biggest Euro Lottery jackpot of all was €185 million, a sum created after the jackpot was not reached following 13 consecutive rollovers. This happened two weeks running in July 2011 and was not won in the first week. Following rules implemented in March 2009 that set a Jackpot Pool Cap the amount for a match 5 main and 2 Lucky Stars could not go above €185 million. For the first week there were 6 winners who matched 5 main and 1 Lucky Star and these players each took home over £3.3 / €4.5 million. On the second week Christine and Colin Weir matched 5 main numbers and 2 Lucky Stars to win the €185 million, netting a jackpot of £161,653,000 whilst eleven winners matched 5 main and 1 Lucky Star to claim the money in the prize pool over and above the Jackpot Pool Cap and take home over €2.4/£1.7 each.

More on Euro Millions Lottery

The Euro Millions rolldown facility mentioned a moment ago comes into play when there is a special superdraw that guarantees a jackpot payout, or when the Euro Millions jackpot has reached the Jackpot Pool Cap. From 6 March, 2009, the Euro Millions jackpot pool was capped at €185 million, and excess prize money previously allocated to the jackpot fund under the old rules will by allocated to winners of smaller Euro Millions prizes.

There are thirteen Euro Millions prize levels in all, and the odds of winning any prize at all are 1 in 13, so even if the jackpot eludes you, there is still a great chance that you will pick up a nice consolation prize!

Euro Millions tickets can be purchased from lottery retailers in person or you can play online. Buying Euro Millions tickets online is generally the best option because it helps you to avoid the risk of losing your ticket. As with many other lottery games, if you lose your Euro Millions lottery ticket and someone else finds it, they will be able to claim your prize, so buying Euro Millions tickets online really is the most sensible way to take part. It also allows you to play from the comfort of your own home!

Although Euro Millions is by no means the oldest lottery in the world, it is without doubt one of the biggest and most popular. In fact, Euro Millions has been so successful that it is being used as a model for an even bigger World Lottery that will be launched at some point in the future.

But that’s the future. Right now you’d find it very difficult to find any lottery that has what it takes to beat the fun, excitement and sheer profit potential of Euro Millions.