EuroMillions: Official Guide, Rules, Odds & How to Play
What is EuroMillions lottery?
EuroMillions is the biggest multi-state European lottery launched on 7 February 2004. Initially only the UK, France and Spain were involved, but lotteries from Austria, Belgium, Ireland, Luxembourg, Portugal, and Switzerland subsequently joined the draw on 8 October 2004. The first draw was on 13 February 2004 and the draw took place in Paris. The EuroMillions draw now takes place every Tuesday and Friday evenings at 20:45 CET.
As of 24 September 2016 the structure of the draw was changed, with the Lucky Star being drawn from a pool of 12 numbers instead of the old 11.
How to play EuroMillions?
Select 5 main numbers from 1-50 and 2 Lucky Stars from 1-12. Match a minimum of 2 main numbers to win a prize. To win a jackpot you have to match all 5 main numbers and 2 Lucky Stars. In UK you also get an automatic Millionaire Maker entry with every line of numbers you play with one lucky winner receiving £1,000,000. On special draws there may be more than one winner.
What are the odds to win EuroMillions jackpot?
You can win by matching any of the combination of main numbers and lucky stars below. Match minimum of 2 main numbers for a lowest prize or match all 5 main numbers and 2 lucky stars for the jackpot!
| Main Numbers | Lucky Stars | Odds |
|---|---|---|
| 5 | 2 | 1 in 139,838,160 |
| 5 | 1 | 1 in 6,991,908 |
| 5 | 0 | 1 in 3,107,515 |
| 4 | 2 | 1 in 621,503 |
| 4 | 1 | 1 in 31,076 |
| 4 | 0 | 1 in 13,812 |
| 3 | 2 | 1 in 14,126 |
| 2 | 2 | 1 in 986 |
| 3 | 1 | 1 in 707 |
| 3 | 0 | 1 in 314 |
| 1 | 2 | 1 in 188 |
| 2 | 1 | 1 in 50 |
| 2 | 0 | 1 in 22 |
Winning VS Losing Combinations
Did you know that after each EuroMillions draw, there will be exactly:
Winning Combinations: 10,037,916 (7%)
Losing Combinations: 129,800,244 (93%)
Winning Probability Calculations
In the EuroMillions lottery, you have to pick 5 main numbers from 1 to 50 and 2 lucky star numbers from 1 to 12. To win the lowest prize, you have to match only 2 main numbers. The number of combinations that will always win any prize after each draw is calculated as follows:
Total Number of Combinations
The total number of ways to choose 5 main numbers from 50 and 2 lucky star numbers from 12 is given by:
\( \binom{50}{5} \times \binom{12}{2} = \frac{50!}{5!(50-5)!} \times \frac{12!}{2!(12-2)!} = 2,118,760 \times 66 = 139,838,160 \)
Non-Winning Combinations
To find out how many combinations do not win any prize (match 0 or 1 main number), we calculate:
Matching 0 Main Numbers
The number of ways to pick 5 main numbers from the remaining 45 is:
\( \binom{45}{5} = \frac{45!}{5!(45-5)!} = 1,221,759 \)
Matching Exactly 1 Main Number
The number of ways to select 1 correct main number from the 5 drawn and 4 numbers from the remaining 45 is:
\( \binom{5}{1} \times \binom{45}{4} = 5 \times \frac{45!}{4!(45-4)!} = 5 \times 148,995 = 744,975 \)
Total Non-Winning Combinations
Adding the non-winning combinations:
\( \binom{45}{5} + \left( \binom{5}{1} \times \binom{45}{4} \right) = 1,221,759 + 744,975 = 1,966,734 \)
Including all combinations of 2 lucky star numbers:
\( \text{Total Non-Winning Combinations} = 1,966,734 \times \binom{12}{2} = 1,966,734 \times 66 = 129,800,244 \)
Winning Combinations
Subtracting the non-winning combinations from the total number of combinations gives the number of combinations that will always win any prize:
\( 139,838,160 - 129,800,244 = 10,037,916 \)
Therefore, there are 10,037,916 combinations that will always win any prize after each draw in the EuroMillions lottery.
So that means, 93% of all possible EuroMillions combinations will not win a prize after each draw and only 7% of combinations will always win a prize.
With our system, you will be able to play the winning 7% EuroMillions combinations frequently.
How can I increase my chances of winning the EuroMillions jackpot?
There are several ways how to increase your chances to win the jackpot and we specialize in doing just that! You can find all the information to help you win here: How to win EuroMillions lottery
What are the most common numbers in EuroMillions?
Please refer to our EuroMillions statistics page where we provide all the statistics you need including most often drawn single numbers, number pairs, triplets, lucky stars pairs and more.
Where do I get the latest EuroMillions results?
You can find the latest EuroMillions results on our site right after the draw takes place. We also provide full draw history since beginning of EuroMillions history.
EuroMillions Prize Breakdown
There are 13 prize tiers in EuroMillions lottery with the odds to win the smallest prize are 1 in 22. The prizes for each tier are not fixed unlike some other lotteries like UK EuroMillions, but they are calculated based on the number of tickets sold and number of winners per each tier. Sometimes you can win more money by matching less numbers but this is quite an exception.
| Winning selections | MAX prize | AVG prize | MIN prize |
|---|---|---|---|
| Match 5 + 2 | £206,064,000.00 | £47,734,817.40 | £4,093,500.00 |
| Match 5 + 1 | £3,696,996.80 | £274,379.33 | £36,551.30 |
| Match 5 | £681,684.63 | £40,293.63 | £3,672.40 |
| Match 4 + 2 | £22,598.60 | £2,383.84 | £196.90 |
| Match 4 + 1 | £302.20 | £121.98 | £26.30 |
| Match 4 | £140.60 | £57.68 | £8.60 |
| Match 3 + 2 | £102.40 | £44.28 | £12.60 |
| Match 2 + 2 | £24.60 | £12.63 | £3.80 |
| Match 3 + 1 | £29.60 | £10.02 | £3.90 |
| Match 3 | £17.80 | £7.99 | £3.60 |
| Match 1 + 2 | £11.50 | £6.41 | £2.30 |
| Match 2 + 1 | £8.70 | £4.99 | £2.30 |
| Match 2 | £3.80 | £2.78 | £1.80 |
History since 13 February 2004.
Where can I buy EuroMillions tickets?
The easiest way to buy your ticket is to do it online. You can do it either via the official lottery provider in your country (see the table below) or you can purchase them via 3rd party resellers .
What are EuroMillions Official Websites?
With so many websites related to EuroMillions it's quite hard to find out which ones are really the official ones and which ones are not. Here's the complete list of all 9 EuroMillions Official Websites - each per participating country.
| Country | Operated by | Official website |
|---|---|---|
| United Kingdom | Camelot Group | https://www.national-lottery.co.uk/games/euromillions |
| Austria | Österreichische Lotterien Gesellschaft m.b.H | https://www.lotterien.at/en/games/gaming-portfolio/euromillions/ |
| Belgium | Loterie Nationale | https://www.loterie-nationale.be/nos-jeux/euromillions |
| France | Française des Jeux (FDJ) | https://www.fdj.fr/jeux-de-tirage/euromillions-my-million/ |
| Ireland | Premier Lotteries Ireland (PLI) | https://www.lottery.ie/games/euromillions |
| Luxembourg | Loterie Nationale du Luxembourg | https://www.loterie.lu/content/portal/fr/playnow/euromillions.html |
| Portugal | Jogos Santa Casa | https://www.jogossantacasa.pt/web/JogarEuromilhoes/ |
| Spain | Sociedad Estatal Loterías y Apuestas del Estado | https://www.loteriasyapuestas.es/es/euromillones |
| Switzerland | Swisslos Loterie Intercantonale | http://www.swisslos.ch/de/euromillions/einzeltipps/spielen.html#tipp |
Remember, the only way to officially buy a ticket is via these official websites. But you have to be a legal resident of the country and have a national ID and bank account. You can also use 3rd party reseller websites but you have to be careful who to trust. Sites like www.euro-millions.com or www.euromillions.com are absolutely NOT OFFICIAL WEBSITES and are making money purely by reselling lottery tickets via overpriced 3rd party websites.
How to win EuroMillions
Increase your chances to win the jackpot by following these expert tips and strategies:
How To Win EuroMillionsTo play EuroMillions online
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