February 2020 – Changes to the Jackpot Cap
On 1st February 2020 a number of changes were made to EuroMillions and the jackpots on offer. The changes were implemented to help jackpots grow bigger and faster than under previous game rules, without an increase in ticket price or the number of balls to choose from. In addition, the new prize structure meant that the average number of Superdraws taking place each year would increase.
The Jackpot Cap, which stood at €190 million since January 2012, increased to €200 million, with the potential of climbing further to €250 million in future. Read more about the EuroMillions jackpot cap changes from February 2020.
General rules
Play the EuroMillions lottery
- Players must choose five main numbers between 1 and 50 as well as two star numbers (Lucky Star) between 1 and 12.
- Ticket sales end on the day of the draw at 20 h 30 THIS (19 h 30 GMT).
- All players must be at least 18 years, with the exception of UK players, who must be at least old 16 years.
- EuroMillions Lottery Players, automatically participate in additional games, UK Millionaire Maker and the occasional Europe-wide raffle, European Millionaire Maker.
Price claims of millions of euros
- Prizes can only be claimed in the country in which the winning ticket was purchased. For players who have won a prize online through a concierge service, low value prices will be paid directly by the service, whose staff will also assist players with the Grand Prize claims process.
- Participants of the online lottery syndicates will receive their share of the winnings directly from the concierge service.
- The EuroMillions prize claim process works differently in each of the participating countries. The following table tells you how long you have to claim a prize and what happens if you miss the deadline.
| Pays | Claim period | What happens in the event of unclaimed prizes ? |
|---|---|---|
| Austria | 3 years | Prizes are returned to the lottery for three years before being used to fund the price increase. |
| Belgium | 140 days | The prizes are returned to the Belgian National Lottery. |
| France | 60 days | Prizes are used to fund special promotions, creating a number of millionaires over the course of a week. |
| Ireland | 90 days | Returned to the UK National Lottery and used to promote its games to raise money for good causes. |
| Luxembourg | 60 days | Prizes are returned to the reserve fund of the lottery. |
| Portugal | 90 days | The prices are transferred to the Santa Casa da Misericórdia de Lisboa, which manages hospitals and other charitable funds. |
| Spain | 90 days | The prices are transferred to the State Public Treasury. |
| Suisse | 180 days | Prizes are returned to the lottery to be distributed to charities. |
| UK | 180 days | Prizes are transferred to the National Lottery Good Causes Fund (National Lottery Foundation for Charities). |
For more details on what to do if you win a prize, see the How to Claim a Prize Page.
The jackpot ceiling
If no player wins the jackpot in a EuroMillions draw, the first prize will be put back into play and will be added to the funds of the following draw, until the prize pool reaches a maximum amount of 200 million € which will be available for four draws without a winner before it is allocated to the nearest lower prize pool. See the Money pot limit for more information.
Types of EuroMillions Scams
EuroMillions scams can turn the popular dream of winning a jackpot into a costly nightmare. Here are some of the most popular methods used by fraudsters.
The first point of contact is generally made using one of the following approaches:
Direct Mail
A letter is sent through the post informing the recipient that they have won a lottery prize and need to register their claim in order for their winnings to be processed.
Telephone
A ‘lottery official’ calls the potential victim to tell them about the ‘good news’ and, during the telephone call, will try to extract a payment and/or bank details under the pretence that a ‘processing fee’ or ‘tax’ needs to be paid.
Some scammers have taken to selling fake lottery tickets over the phone. They will ask for payment upfront, requiring the target to disclose their bank details, but the tickets are never sent as they do not exist.
Mobile
A text message is sent informing the recipient that their mobile number was entered into a raffle or lottery and selected at random as the winner.
About the circulation of UK Millionaire Maker
The additional EuroMillions Millionaire Maker lottery draw guarantees, what, at least one UK player is sure to win 1 million pounds in each draw. Since these two games are played separately, you can also win a prize in the main EuroMillions game, and in Millionaire Maker, so players are advised to check their tickets carefully.
How it works
Chances of winning at UK Millionaire Maker vary depending on the number of players in each game, since at least two codes are guaranteed to be chosen from all codes, participating in every draw in the UK. For instance, in the EuroMillions draw on Tuesday, usually, fewer players involved, i.e. your chances of winning in the middle of the week are higher, than friday.
The European Millionaire Maker special draw is similar, but available to all players, who play at least one line of numbers in any of the nine EuroMillions member states.
Visit the How It Works page for a more detailed explanation of how to select Millionaire Maker codes and how the odds change from draw to draw.
How to get your winnings
In case of winning the additional circulation prize "Millionaire Creator", the lucky winner has 180 days, from the day of the draw, during which he must pick up the prize due to him. Otherwise, the entire prize amount will be transferred to the EuroMillions Lottery Charity Fund.
For more information on how to get a prize, see the page "How to get a prize".
History of UK Millionaire Maker
12 january 2019 year - For, to increase the number of Millionaire Maker special draws, the number of mandatory winning codes in a draw has been reduced from two to one. The first special draw will take place in the spring 2019 of the year, when will it be guaranteed 40 millionth winners in one draw.
24 september 2016 of the year - the number of prizes for the standard Millionaire Maker draw has been increased to two. Mega Friday draw ("Mega Friday") became known as Mega Week ("Mega-week"), and several prizes for 1 £ million, as well as luxurious prizes in the last two draws of each month.
31 October 2014 of the year - the Millionaire Raffle lottery changed its name to Millionaire Maker and its Mega Friday draw was held, wherein 25 players won by 1 £ million and a VIP trip to Makepeace Island in Australia.
26 july 2013 year - the "100 millionaires" draw was held again, and once again gave a chance 100 the luckiest players a chance to win 1 million pounds. Due to the increased expectation of this game, ticket sales have skyrocketed, but unfortunately it was not possible to break the record - only 92 participant from 100 declared their victory.
31 May 2013 of the year - the drawing "£ 1 million every month" was held as part of the annual drawing. unlike the usual prize in 1 million pounds, winner got 12 million pounds payable by 1 million monthly throughout the year.
27 july 2012 of the year - advertising draw 100 Millionaires ("100 millionaires") held on the evening of the opening ceremony of the Olympic Games 2012 years in London. 97 of 100 Millionaire Maker Winners Claim Their Prize, breaking the world record for the number of people, who became millionaires in one evening.
25 November 2011 of the year - the beginning of the "Month of Millionaires", during which it was played 50 prizes for 1 £ million in the four weeks before Christmas.
13 November 2009 of the year - the start of the Millionaire Raffle draw.
100 millionaires
"100 Millionaires" is a special version of "Millionaire Circulation", wherein 100 EuroMillions lottery participants can win by 1 million pounds each. To date, drawing "100 millionaires", past 27 july 2012 of the year(Friday), holds the record for the number of players who became millionaires overnight - from 100 prizes won, Total 3 the winner did not show up for their prize, rest 97 players became happy owners 1 million pounds.
When buying a EuroMillions lottery ticket for each line of game numbers, the player receives a free Raffle number, regardless of the number of prizes drawn in the "Millionaire Draw".
