The Euro Millions European Lottery

On 7 February 2004 the first European lottery was launched. One had been considered since the 1990s but agreement could not be reached on its organization until much later.

Operating the first Euro millions draw were the Lotertias y Apuestas del Estado in Spain, Camelot in Britain (who ran it alongside the existing UK lottery draw) and Francaise des Jeux in France. It was not until October 2004 that these three founder members were joined by schemes from Luxembourg, Ireland, Switzerland, Austria, Belgium and Portugal. Now it became a proper European lottery.

All eyes turn on Paris every Friday night when the winning numbers are drawn. Entry costs two euros or two GB pounds. Portugal and Ireland also run a 'Plus' option that costs three euros.

A Millionaire Raffle game was introduced by the UK authorities on 7 November 2009 to run alongside the European lottery and this creates a new millionaire every week.
An exciting aspect of the Euro millions draw is that it regularly 'rolls over.' This happens when the jackpot is not won on a particular week and results in the total being carried over to the following weeks jackpot. This can increase the amount to be won considerably. When it was devised, a rule was laid down to say the lottery can not roll over for more than eleven weeks. A winner must be found on the twelfth week at the latest. A winner of the European lottery usually has to match five balls and two lucky stars but on that twelfth roll over week, if a winner in not found in this way, then it can be reduced to five balls and just one lucky star.

Last year, on Friday 6 November, Les and Samantha Scadding were delighted to find they had won £45 million on the European lottery. Indeed they had won only half of that weeks £90 million jackpot. Both winners were residents of the UK, however.

However, the Euro lottery results show that this was not the biggest payout in Euro millions history. The record amount was received by a lady in Ireland in July 2005 who received a massive 115 million euros after nine weeks of roll over. A gentleman in Belgium took away the second highest payout in February 2007 and this totalled 100 million euros. All winners receive their money tax free, unless they reside in Switzerland.

The jackpots received tend to vary, adjusted as they are according to the contributions from the country concerned.

From a difficult start, the Euro millions lottery is now considered to be a success and is, indeed, a real European lottery.

Find out more about lotteries at UK lottery draw.

All About The UK Lottery Draw

The UK lottery draw has proved to be extremely popular. The national lottery numbers are selected every Wednesday and Saturday and over 70% of the population take part. An average of 4 million people win prizes and more than £32 billion has been paid out to winners since the draw started in 1994. Lesser prizes are given out for three numbers or more and to win the jackpot, all six numbers require to be matched.

Of course, to take part in the UK lottery draw a ticket needs to be purchased. There are 27 500 authorized distributor outlets where most people buy their tickets. If you cannot wait for the results, instant win scratchcards are also available. Taking a special form, you then select your numbers, take the completed form to one of the shop staff who enters your details in a dedicated terminal. A receipt is produced which lists the numbers chosen, the dates and now a serial number with a bar code.


Technology now allows the playing of the British national lottery on-line as well. You just enter your selected numbers on the official site, pay the fee and you receive a ticket by email. Print this ticket off and it is accepted in the event you win a prize. This method is actually quite acceptable and safe (as long as you use the official website, of course). As in the case of the offline method, instant win options area available.

There is now the 'Lucky Dip' option for those who might be like me and useless at picking lottery numbers. Your six numbers are picked at random by the computer. If you wish, you can use the same numbers in each week's draw.

Extensive publicity is given to the winning national lottery numbers and the BBC even shows the draw live on air. Should you be lucky enough to select the successful national lottery numbers, you simply list your name and address on the reverse of the ticket and take it to any British national lottery outlet.

The jackpot prize is not always won every week. If this happens, it is said to 'rollover' and the prize money is added to the total for the following week.

Interestingly, one out of every four jackpots in the UK lottery draw is won by a syndicate. Most places of work and many clubs have at least one British national lottery syndicate in existence. Usually one person will take responsibility for the organisation and the purchasing of the tickets. On 30 December last year, six members of a syndicate in the north east of England won £1.7 million each total £10 million).

The UK lottery draw is not standing still, however. The opportunities to play lottery on-line have increased with the introduction of playing from your mobile phone and the development of Elottery syndicates. These give extra benefits including extra chances to win.

If you would like to find out more go to UK Lottery Draw.