EuroMillions

EuroMillions Overview

EuroMillions was founded in 2004 by the French, Spanish, and UK lottery operators. The first draw took place on 13th February, 2004.

Originally, EuroMillions draws were happening once a week on Friday evenings. In May 2011, the Tuesday draw was added and the Lucky Star choices were increased from 9 to 11. The Lucky Stars were increased again to 12 in September 2016.

EuroMillions is played in nine European countries and can generate jackpots in excess of €100 million. Players must select five main numbers from a pool of 1 to 50 and two Lucky Star numbers from a pool of 1 to 12. To win the jackpot, players must match all five main numbers and two Lucky Stars drawn. There are twelve other prize tiers on offer, starting from matching a minimum of two main numbers.

EuroMillions jackpots start at a minimum of £14 million and have a cap of €250 million. The jackpot reached its previous cap of €190 million on four occasions - in August 2012, Adrian and Gillian Bayford of Suffolk, UK, became the first players to win the game's maximum prize, before a Portuguese player from Castelo Branco matched the achievement in October 2014. In October 2017, a Spanish player from Gran Canaria became the third player to win €190 million. In October 2019 the EuroMillions jackpot completed a run of 22 consecutive rollovers, including five draws at the jackpot cap. The €190 million jackpot was finally won by a single ticket holder from the UK, making it the fourth time that the maximum amount had been won.

EuroMillions’ base currency is Euro.Therefore, if a UK player wins the jackpot, the total amount must be converted into Pounds at the exchange rate at that time, meaning the advertised amount is liable to fluctuate. The shift sometimes benefits players in the UK as bigger sums are available when the Pound is weak against the Euro.

The non-jackpot amounts are calculated using a pari-mutuel system and take into account each country’s contribution to the game.

The jackpot cap was allowed to increase by €10 million after each time it was won, up to a maximum of €250 million. A ticket holder from France won €200 million on Friday 11th December 2020, and the record was broken again on Friday 26th February 2021 when a player from Switzerland landed €210 million. France reclaimed the record when a single ticket holder from the country won €220 million on Friday 15th October 2021. A UK player then became the biggest-ever winner when they claimed €230 million (£195 million) on Tuesday 19th July 2022. More recently, an Austrian ticket holder won €240 million on Friday 8th December, pushing the jackpot limit up to its maximum of €250 million.

The participating EuroMillions countries are Austria, Belgium, France, Ireland, Luxembourg, Portugal, Spain, Switzerland and the UK. Draws are held in Paris on Tuesday and Friday evenings.