EuroMillions is a transnational lottery, launched on 7 February 2004 by France's Française
des Jeux, Spain's Loterías y Apuestas del Estado and the United Kingdom's Camelot. The
first draw was held on Friday 13 February 2004 in Paris. Initially, only the UK, France
and Spain participated, with the Austrian, Belgian, Irish, Luxembourgish, Portuguese
and Swiss lotteries joining for the 8 October 2004 drawing.
Draws are held every Tuesday and Friday night at 20:45 CET in Paris. A standard EuroMillions
ticket costs €2.00, £2.00 or CHF3.00 per line played, depending on the local currency.
non-optional addition called "My Million" in France adds €0.50 per line) The cost
of playing in the UK increased from £1.50 to £2.00 per line on 7 November 2009, due
to the combination of: the EUR/GBP exchange rate, and an automatic entry in its Millionaire
Raffle. All prizes, including the jackpot, are tax-free
and are paid as a lump sum.
Play The player selects five main numbers which
can be any number from 1 to 50. The player selects two different lucky star
numbers from a pool of 11 numbers. Draws take place at 20:45 every Tuesday and
Friday in Paris. The results are published shortly after the draw on associated and independent
websites around 23:00 hours. To participate in the EuroMillions Lotto,
you can purchase tickets from many outlets, namely at licenced stores and online websites.
The gameplay changed on Tuesday 10 May 2011 with a second weekly draw and the number of
"lucky stars" in the Pacquerette machine increasing from 9 to 11. A prize for matching two main
numbers and no lucky stars was also introduced on the same date.
Eligibility Any person 18 or over who resides in a participating
country. The minimum age differs in some countries, e.g. it is 16 years in the UK.
The game is currently available to players in Andorra, Austria, Belgium, France, Ireland,
the Isle of Man, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, Monaco, Portugal, Spain, Switzerland and the
United Kingdom. Prize structure
As of Tuesday 10 May 2011 the structure of the draw was changed, with the Lucky Star
being drawn from a pool of 11 numbers instead of the old 9. The prize structure as of Tuesday
10 May 2011 is as follows: The booster fund is available to contribute
to the jackpot, for example to boost the initial jackpot in a sequence of growing jackpots.
The amount utilized each week is determined in advance by the participating lotteries.
The odds of winning any prize at all are 1 in 13
The odds of getting none of the 50 main balls but getting both lucky stars is approximately
1 in 95. This means that it is less likely than getting 2 main balls and one lucky star.
However, there is no prize for only getting 2 lucky stars.
As of 10 May 2011, 8.6% of the prize fund is allocated to a "Booster Fund" which can
be used to boost the jackpot prize. The figures for the 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. If the Jackpot is not won, it rolls over to
the next draw. Effective 7 November 2009 new rules were put
in place regarding rollovers. The new rules introduce the Jackpot Pool Cap.
The jackpot will continue to rollover until the Jackpot reaches or exceeds €185,000,000,
the Jackpot will remain at €185,000,000 and any additional prize money rolled over
will be added to the jackpot pool for the next lower prize level containing at least
one winner. After winning the Jackpot with a Jackpot Pool
Cap, the Jackpot Pool Cap grows by €5,000,000. If the €190,000,000 Jackpot is still not
won, the Jackpot will continue to be €190,000,000 for the next draw if it is won, and again
any additional prize money will be added to the jackpot pool for the next lower prize
level containing at least one winner. A new rule change of 12 January 2012 locks
the Jackpot cap at €190,000,000 permanently and if the jackpot is not won after two draws,
the prize money will be distributed amongst the winners at the next level.
The future rule change in 2015 the new Jackpot cap locks at the €200,000,000 succeed by
€190,000,000. If the new future jackpot is not won after three draws, the prize money
will be distributed amongst the winners at the next level.
EuroMillions Trust The participating national lotteries in the
EuroMillions game have each established a EuroMillions Trust account. This is used for
the settlement of all amounts due and for holding amounts in respect of future prizes.
This trust arrangement protects the participating lotteries between them from a default from
one of the national companies and ultimately the players interests.
Super Draws and Event draws Super Draws and Event draws are special drawings
when the Jackpot is set to a guaranteed amount - often €100,000,000. The difference being
that a Super Draw jackpot will roll over to the next drawing if not won but an Event Draw
jackpot will be distributed amongst the winners in the next lower tier.
The first Super draw of 2011 took place on Tuesday 10 May to mark the introduction of
the second weekly Euromillions draw and changes to the game format
Super draws have been held to date on 9 February 2007;
28 September 2007; 8 February 2008;
26 September 2008; 6 March 2009;
18 September 2009; 5 February 2010;
1 October 2010; 10 May 2011;
4 October 2011; 28 September 2012;
22 March 2013; 7 June 2013;
15 November 2013; 7 March 2014;
3 October 2014; (A €100,000,000 superdraw was planned for
6 June 2014 but suspended / postponed when the jackpot rolled over to €105,000,000)
(This is a change to the game rules as of 4 April 2011 when the Event Draw was added.
To date, there is yet to be an Event Draw.) Notable wins
Distribution of revenue In the UK, the total EuroMillions revenue
is broken down as follows: Email Scams making use of EuroMillions Brand
Name When Chris and Colin Weir, one couple who
won the EuroMillions, pledged to donate their prize money to good causes, cyber criminals
started using the couple's name in their email scams to fool the general public and ultimately
cheat them of money. EuroMillions Plus
In June 2007, with the success of the main EuroMillions game, the Irish National Lottery
launched EuroMillions Plus. For an extra €1 per line, players could enter the additional
draw with the top prize each week of €500,000. Sales of the main EuroMillions in Ireland
for 2006 were over €145 million; this success led to the introduction of 'Plus'.
UK Millionaire Maker Since November 2009 at least one UK player
every week has won a guaranteed million Pounds Sterling. With the introduction of the Tuesday
EuroMillions Draw on Tuesday 10 May 2011 there are now 2 Millionaire Raffle winners each
week. The chances of winning the UK Millionaire
Maker game on a Tuesday can be estimated as 1 in 3,500,000. On a Friday, it can be calculated
as 1 in 9,200,000. Winning in this game depends entirely on the number of the playslips sold.
The odds may be lower during large jackpots, a super draw or a special event in the UK
Millionaire Raffle. Prices per line in the UK increased by 50
pence to £2.00. The 50 pence was added due to weak exchange rates between the pound and
euro and to cover the expense of the new Millionaire Maker.
UK Millionaire Maker Special Events On Friday 31st October 2014, there will be
25 winners On Tuesday 31st December 2013, there were
25 winners On Friday 26 July 2013, there were 100 winners
On Friday 31 May 2013, the winner won a total of £12 million.
On New Year's Day, 2013 there were 25 Winners On Christmas Day 2012 there were 25 Winners
To celebrate the London 2012 Olympics on 27 July 2012 the drawing had 100 winners.
Millionaires Month ran from 25 November 2011 through to 23 December 2011, when 50 UK Millionaire
Raffle winners were announced over a month long promotion. On Friday 25 November 2011
the first 18 millionaires were made. Another 7 were made between Tuesday 29 November 2011
and Tuesday 20 December 2011. On Friday 23 December 2011 the last 25 millionaires were
made. On Tuesday 7 June 2011, there were 15 winners.
On Christmas Eve 2010 the UK Millionaire Raffle was increased to 25 winners in one evening.
See also Eurojackpot - a similar transnational lottery
in Croatia, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Germany, Hungary, Iceland, Italy,
Latvia, Lithuania, the Netherlands, Norway, Slovenia, Spain and Sweden.
Lottery Viking Lotto - a similar transnational lottery
in Denmark, Sweden, Norway, Finland, Iceland, Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia.
References
External links UK EuroMillions
Irish National Lottery Belgium National Lottery
Portugal National Lottery Spain National Lottery
Swiss Lottery Austrian National Lottery
Luxembourg National Lottery French National Lottery