The Euro Millions lottery came into being on the 7th of February 2004 and is a collaboration of the Francaise des Jeux in France, the Loterias y Apuestas des Estad in Spain and Camelot in the UK. The very first Euro Millions lottery draw took place the following week on the 13th of February in the French capital, Paris. From the outset, it was only the UK, France and Spain who took part in the Euromillions. However, a further six countries entered the draw on the 8th of October 2004; these were Austria, Belgium, the Republic of Ireland, Luxembourg, Portugal and Switzerland.
The Euro Millions lottery, or the European lotto as it is also commonly referred to, pools the stakes of these nine European nations resulting in a huge starting jackpot prize. With the number of countries joining the European Union on the increase, this will naturally lead to more nations signing up to the Euro Millions lottery game thus generating even greater jackpots.
If the winning Euro Millions lottery jackpot numbers are not matched in any of the Friday draws, the jackpot is rolled over to the following week creating a larger prize each time this happens. The largest ever European lotto prize was created as a result of there being 11 consecutive rollovers. Finally, on the 3rd of February 2006, the Euro Millions lottery jackpot of more than £125 GBP was split between three winning tickets.
How to Play the Euro Millions Lottery
When buying a Euro Millions lottery ticket, a player must choose 5 principle numbers from 1 to 50 inclusive as well as 2 lucky star numbers from 1 to 9. When the Euro Millions lottery draw takes place, the 5 main and 2 lucky star numbers are then selected at random from two separate draw machines containing numbered balls.
The Prize Structure of the Euro Millions Lottery
The odds of choosing the winning Euro Millions lottery prize is greater than 1 in 76 million whereas the odds of picking up any prize at all are a respectable 1 in 24. The jackpot published for the next Euro Millions lottery draw is always just an estimate as the actual amount depends on exactly how many people buy tickets for each weekly draw.
If the jackpot has not been won by the twelfth successive week of rolling over, then the prize is distributed between the winners of the next prize level down i.e. those matching the 5 main numbers and 1 bonus ball.
Notable Wins in the Euro Millions Lottery
In February 2007, a Belgian man won the jackpot of €100 million ($132 million or £67.9 million) which is the largest lottery win in Belgium and the second-biggest single win in Euromillions history.
By the 17th of November 2006, after rolling over 11 times, the European lotto jackpot had reached a staggering €183 million ($241 million or £124 million pounds). However, still no ticket matched the winning numbers and so the prize was shared among the 20 ticket holders who matched the next prize tier of 5 main numbers and 1 lucky star number. Each ticket holder collected €9.6 million ($12.6 million).
On March 31st 2006 the Euro Millions lottery jackpot of €75,753,123 ($100,175,909) was won, having rolled over 6 times. The prize went to another Belgian man and was the second biggest ever win in Belgium.
On July 31st 2005, the Euro Millions lottery jackpot of €115 million ($152 million) was won by an Irish lady called Dolores McNamara. To date, this is the largest ever individual win in Euromillions history.
On the 8th of February 2008, the super draw jackpot of €130 million was won by 16 people who had tickets matching the 5 principle numbers and 1 lucky star number. Because there was no ticket matching 5 main numbers and the 2 lucky star numbers, this meant that the jackpot was shared between the next prize tier since super draws do not roll over. As a result, each of the 16 winners picked up around €8.6 million each.
Discover a way of dramatically increasing your Euro Millions lottery chances and adding your name to this list of notable lotto winners. Alternatively, buy your Euromillions tickets and you will be ready for the next Euro Millions lottery draw.
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