EuroMillions FAQs
Read through these frequently asked questions to learn more about EuroMillions and how it works.
Question: When do the EuroMillions draws take place?
Answer: There are two EuroMillions draws a week - on Tuesdays and Fridays - which take place in Paris around 21:00 CET (20:00 GMT). A full prize breakdown is available shortly after the draw.
Back to TopQuestion: What time do EuroMillions ticket sales close?
Answer: Ticket sales close at 20:30 CET (19:30 GMT) on the night of the draw, and re-open for the following draw at around 22:30 CET (21:30 GMT) that same evening.
Back to TopQuestion: Does EuroMillions have a guaranteed minimum jackpot amount?
Answer: The guaranteed minimum EuroMillions jackpot is €17 million, although it will often reach much higher values due to rollovers.
Back to TopQuestion: How do you win prizes on EuroMillions?
Answer: To win the EuroMillions jackpot, you must match all five main numbers and two Lucky Stars drawn. There are 12 prize tiers in which players can win smaller prizes, achieved by matching 2 main numbers or more. Find out more at the EuroMillions Prizes page.
Back to TopQuestion: Can you play EuroMillions if you do not live in a participating country?
Answer: Yes, you can choose your EuroMillions numbers online from anywhere in the world. To learn more, visit the Lotto Tickets page.
Back to TopQuestion: If you win, how long do you have to claim a prize?
Answer: The length of time you have to claim a winning ticket depends on the country in which it was bought:
- Austria: 3 years
- Belgium: 140 days
- France: 60 days
- Ireland: 90 days
- Luxembourg: 60 days
- Portugal: 90 days
- Spain: 90 days
- Switzerland: 180 days
- UK: 180 days
Question: How old do you have to be to play EuroMillions?
Answer: All players must be aged 18 or over.
Back to TopQuestion: Are EuroMillions prizes taxable?
Answer: There are only three EuroMillions nations that tax EuroMillions wins. Spanish prizes worth more than €40,000 are taxed at 20%, amounts worth more than CHF1,000 are taxed at 35% in Switzerland and there is a 20% levy on Portuguese prizes of more than €5,000.
However, wherever you played EuroMillions, you may be liable for tax on the interest from a huge win. In addition, if you take part online from a non-participating country, you should check with a local expert on any liabilities a big prize might bring. You can learn more about costs around the world on our Lotto Tax page.
Back to TopQuestion: What was the largest EuroMillions jackpot ever won?
Answer: The largest EuroMillions jackpot ever won is €230 million, which went to a single ticket in the UK on Tuesday 19th July 2022. A French player had previously won €220 million in October 2021.
Back to TopQuestion: What are the odds of winning the EuroMillions jackpot?
Answer: The odds of winning the EuroMillions jackpot are 1 in 139,838,160. There are twelve other prize tiers in which you can win cash amounts for matching as few as two main numbers.
Back to TopQuestion: What are the overall odds of winning a EuroMillions prize?
Answer: The odds of winning a prize are 1 in 13; for a full breakdown of the odds of winning in each tier, see the EuroMillions Prizes page.
Back to TopQuestion: Does the EuroMillions have a rollover limit or jackpot cap?
Answer:EuroMillions does not have a limit to the number of times it can roll over, but it does have a jackpot cap. The cap currently stands at €250 million and, once the top prize reaches that amount, it can only stay there for five draws. If the jackpot is not won in the fifth draw, it will roll down and be evenly shared between all players in the next winning tier.
Back to TopQuestion: What is a Superdraw?
Answer: A EuroMillions Superdraw offers a guaranteed massive jackpot by taking surplus money from the prize fund. Superdraw jackpots can roll over like normal draws if they are not won, up to the jackpot cap of €250 million.
Back to TopQuestion: When is the next EuroMillions draw?
Answer: The next EuroMillions draw will take place on Tuesday 12th November 2024.
Back to TopQuestion: What does the EuroMillions jackpot currently stand at?
Answer: The next EuroMillions jackpot is estimated at €137 Million.
Back to TopQuestion: How much does it cost to buy a EuroMillions ticket?
Answer: A single ticket costs £2.50 in the UK (or €2.50 in the majority of other participating countries, except Switzerland where tickets cost 3.50 CHF).
Back to TopQuestion: Why is there a difference between prize values in Pounds and Euros?
Answer: The base currency for all EuroMillions prizes is the Euro, meaning UK and Swiss players will receive any jackpot winnings at the current exchange rate.
The method for calculating any non-jackpot prizes is different and takes into account the varying contributions made by players using the different currencies.
For example, players in the UK pay £2.50 per entry, however, only £1.65 of this sum is required to play in the main game, while the additional £0.85p goes towards taking part in the UK-only Millionaire Maker draw. In Euro nations, the cost of entering the main draw is €2.20, with most countries adding an additional €0.30 to participate in the their own supplementary draw. This means that, when the exchange rate dictates that £1.65 is worth less than €2.20, UK players contribute less to the common fund and prizes received by UK players are skewed downwards to compensate for the difference. When £1.65 is worth more than €2.20, UK prizes are accordingly worth more than Euro awards in the same tier.
EuroMillions Euro prize totals also vary marginally between different countries. This is because each nation has a different method of calculating their prizes. The table below explains how rewards are calculated in nations that used the Euro:
Country | Method |
---|---|
Austria | Prizes rounded down to the nearest €0.10 |
Belgium | Prizes rounded down to the nearest €0.10 |
France | Prizes rounded down to the nearest €0.10 |
Ireland | Prizes rounded to the nearest €1 and jackpot totals rounded to the nearest €5 million |
Luxembourg | Prizes rounded down to the nearest €0.10 |
Portugal | Prizes rounded to the nearest €0.01 |
Spain | Prizes rounded to the nearest €0.01 |
Question: What is EuroMillions HotPicks?
Answer: EuroMillions HotPicks is a supplementary game available in the UK. For just £1.50, entrants are able to play to win prizes ranging from £10 up to £1 million.
To play you must select numbers between 1-50 - with the twist being that you can choose how many balls you wish to match. You can play with between one and five numbers, with larger prizes for making more selections. However, you must match all the numbers you choose in order to win. The game uses the numbers from the main EuroMillions draw on Tuesday and Friday nights.
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