How Do EuroMillions Superdraws Work?

How Do EuroMillions Superdraws Work?
Tuesday, September 18, 2018

The second EuroMillions Superdraw of the year will take place on Friday night, pushing the jackpot up to a guaranteed €130 million (approximately £115 million). But how can the top prize be set in advance, do Superdraws work in the same way as regular draws and what happens if nobody wins the jackpot on the night?

How to Enter A Superdraw

You can enter a Superdraw in the same way as any other EuroMillions draw. You just need to select five main numbers from 1 to 50 and two Lucky Stars between 1 and 12. The cost of a ticket is the same as normal (£2.50 in the UK) and the cut-off time for sales is still 20:30 CEST (19:30 BST). You will also still receive an automatic entry into any supplementary games run alongside the main game by your country’s National Lottery (e.g. Millionaire Maker in the UK or My Million in France).

Alternatively, you can join an online syndicate to boost your chances of winning. By owning a share of multiple lines, the odds are better than if you simply purchase one set of numbers for yourself. You can also take out a subscription to save money and make sure you never miss a draw.

Where Does The Jackpot Money Come From?

The only difference between a Superdraw and a regular draw is the size of the jackpot, which is usually announced several weeks in advance. The money comes from the EuroMillions Booster Fund, which receives 4.8% of the prize fund from every regular draw. A reserve pot such as the Booster Fund is necessary so that minimum jackpots can always be offered, and when the Booster Fund runs to an excess it means that special events can be arranged.

When a Superdraw is scheduled there is no way of knowing exactly how much the jackpot will need topping up to reach its advertised amount. However, if the top prize has already gone past the predetermined level the Superdraw will be postponed and it is likely that another one will take place in the near future. The Booster Fund will definitely be required this week as the estimated jackpot for Tuesday is just £40 million (€45 million).

What Happens If The Jackpot Isn’t Won?

The jackpot will roll over as normal if it isn’t won this Friday and an even larger amount will be made available in the following draw. The top prize has not been won on the night since the Superdraw on Friday 30th 2017. When the last Superdraw took place on Friday 20th April, a UK player snapped up £121 million the following Tuesday.

Superdraws can also lead to record-breaking jackpots, and this time last year the top prize kept rolling over until it hit its €190 million limit. A ticket holder from Gran Canaria in Spain ended up winning the entire amount to become only the third player in the lottery’s history to win a prize of this proportion.

What To Do If You Win The Superdraw

You can use the EuroMillions Results Checker straight after Friday’s draw to see if you are a winner. Just enter the numbers you played and hit ‘Check Numbers’. You will also see if the numbers you played have won you any prizes over the past 180 days.

If you are lucky enough to win, you need to come forward and claim your prize before the ticket expires (this is 180 days in the UK and ranges from as little as 60 days to as much as three years in other participating countries).

You then face a decision over whether to go public or stay anonymous, before considering how you want to spend your winnings. However, you need to take part in the Superdraw to have a chance of winning, and you can get involved now by either playing online or visiting an authorised retailer.