 EuroMillions is a pan-European lottery, launched by the Francaise des Jeux in France and the Loterias y Apuestas del Estado in Spain and Camelot in the UK on Saturday February 7, 2004. The first draw took place on Friday February 13, 2004 in Paris. The UK, France and Spain were involved initially, but lotteries from Austria, Belgium, Republic of Ireland, Luxembourg, Portugal and Switzerland subsequently joined the draw on 8 October 2004.
Draws are held every Friday evening, and take place in Paris. A standard EuroMillions ticket costs €2.00 per line played, or €3.00 if one plays with the "Plus" option (available only in the Republic of Ireland). This is the standard price in all the countries mentioned above. In the UK, it is the equivalent in pounds Sterling, rounded to the nearest 10p (although it has been fixed at £1.50 since the draw began). In Switzerland it is the equivalent in Swiss francs, rounded to the nearest 10c (although it has been fixed at 3.20 CHF since the draw began). Prizes, aside from the jackpot, are sized according to participation per country.
Although EuroMillions as described is an entirely legitimate public lottery game, the name EuroMillions International is also being used for a widespread internet scam. E-mails purporting to notify of a big win based purely on a random draw of e-mail addresses should be treated with utmost caution.
How to play
- Select five main numbers which can be any integer from 1 to 50
- Select two lucky star numbers which can be any integer from 1 to 9
During the draw, five main and two lucky star numbers are then drawn at random from two draw machines containing numbered balls. The machines containing fifty balls is called Stresa, and the one containing nine is the Paquerette.
Prize structure
| Main numbers |
Lucky stars |
Odds |
Probability of winning |
% of prize fund |
| 2 |
1 |
1 in 39 |
0.0256 |
24.0% |
| 1 |
2 |
1 in 103 |
0.00971 |
10.1% |
| 3 |
0 |
1 in 367 |
0.00253 |
4.7% |
| 2 |
2 |
1 in 538 |
0.00186 |
4.4% |
| 3 |
1 |
1 in 551 |
0.00181 |
5.1% |
| 3 |
2 |
1 in 7,705 |
0.00013 |
1.0% |
| 4 |
0 |
1 in 16,143 |
0.0000619 |
0.7% |
| 4 |
1 |
1 in 24,215 |
0.0000413 |
1.0% |
| 4 |
2 |
1 in 339,002 |
0.00000295 |
1.5% |
| 5 |
0 |
1 in 3,632,160 |
0.000000275 |
2.1% |
| 5 |
1 |
1 in 5,448,240 |
0.000000182 |
7.4% |
| 5 |
2 |
1 in 76,275,360 |
0.0000000131 |
22.0% |
- The odds of winning any prize at all are 1 in 24.
- The odds of getting none of the 50 main balls but getting both lucky stars is approximately 1 in 62. This quirk of probability means that it is less likely than getting 2 main balls and one lucky star (1 in 39). However, there is no prize for only getting 2 lucky stars.
- 16% of the prize fund is allocated to a "Booster Fund" which can be used to boost the jackpot prize.
- The figures for estimated prize are just a guide, and the actual amount varies according to the total in the prize fund and the number of winners for each prize. (Estimated prizes as per reverse of UK
play slip)
- If the Jackpot is not won, it rolls over until the following week. However, if the jackpot is not won on the twelfth successive week (i.e., eleven rollovers), then the jackpot prize is "rolled down" by distributing it between winners of the next level instead of rolling it forward again. Note: An exception to this rule would has occurred 3 February 2006, which, if the jackpot had not been won, the jackpot would have been carried over for a thirteenth week (at which point it would have rolled down, if not won on 10 February 2006). Reasons for decisions made for the exceptions to occur is unknown.
- New rules introduced on January 4, 2007, that took effect on February 9, 2007 limit the number of consecutive draws to eleven, with the jackpot rolling down to lower prize levels in the eleventh draw if the jackpot is not won. The new rules also introduced "Event Draws" also referred to as "Superdraws", in which there will be a guarantee of the minimum amount which is available to pay prizes in the Match 5 and 2 Lucky Stars Prize Category; if an Event Draw isn't won it will be rolled down. The first Event Draw was held on February 9, 2007 for €100m (£66m, 165m sfr) to celebrate the Euromillions third birthday.
Notable wins- On 31 August 2007, a French guitarist Vaccaro Joseph (alias Jimmy) won (€39 million). He immediately resigned from his job as a statistician at LUXGSM.
- On 10 August 2007, Angela Kelly, a 40-year-old former Royal Mail postal administrator from East Kilbride, South Lanarkshire, Scotland, won a EuroMillions jackpot of €52.6 million (£35.4 million). This is the largest lottery win ever in the United Kingdom.
- On 31 March 2006, after rolling over six times, the EuroMillions jackpot of €75,753,123 ($100,175,909) was won by one Belgian man, the second biggest win ever in Belgium, and the third-biggest prize won by a single person.
- On 9 February 2007, a Belgian man won the EuroMillions jackpot of €100 million ($132 million or £67.9 million) with a ticket bought in a newspaper shop in Tienen. This is the biggest lottery win in Belgium and the second-biggest individual win in EuroMillions history.
- On 31 July 2005, after rolling over nine times, the EuroMillions jackpot of €115 million ($152 million) was won on a ticket purchased in Garryowen, Limerick, Ireland. The winner was Dolores McNamara, a 45-year-old mother of six; she remains the biggest individual winner in Euromillions history. She claimed the prize on 4 August 2005 at the Irish National Lottery's headquarters in Dublin.
- On 3 February 2006, after rolling over eleven times, the EuroMillions jackpot of €180 million ($238 million) was won by three ticket holders, two in France and one in Portugal. The three winners won €60 million ($79 million) each.
By 17 November 2006, after rolling over eleven times, the EuroMillions jackpot reached €183 million ($241 million or £124 million). No ticket matched all the winning numbers for the twelfth draw, so the jackpot was divided among the twenty tickets that matched five numbers and one lucky star. Each such ticket was worth €9.6 million ($12.6 million), i.e., 5% of the jackpot plus the regular match 5 +1 prize. Seven of the twenty tickets were sold in the United Kingdom, four in France, three each in Spain and Portugal, two in the Republic of Ireland, and one in Belgium.
Distribution of revenue
In the UK, the total Euromillion revenue is broken down as follows:- 0.5% in profit to Camelot
- 4.5% in operating costs
- 5% in commission to the retailers
- 12% to the Government (Lottery Duty)
- 28% for the Good Causes
- 50% to winners
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Millionaire
