The EuroJackpot draw held on 14 October 2016 had one lucky ticket holder from Germany, who matched the seven winning numbers to win the jackpot. What makes this jackpot even more remarkable is that it’s the maximum figure the EuroJackpot can reach before it rolls down to be shared amongst the winners in the next prize division.
That hasn’t happened since a winner from the Czech Republic won the €90 000 000 jackpot in May 2015.
If you play EuroMillions online, you’ll be familiar with the concept of a jackpot cap. But for those who don’t know, this is how it works with the EuroJackpot. The minimum starting jackpot for the EuroJackpot is €10 000 000. If the jackpot isn’t won, it rolls over and increases according to the ticket sales. Once it reaches a total of €90 000 000, it stays at that level for 12 draws. If nobody manages to match the winning numbers on the 13th draw, the prize is rolled down. This means that the prize money is split between the winners in the next prize category.
This is what happened in August 2012, although the jackpot didn’t have a €90 000 000 cap at the time. After 12 consecutive draws, nobody had been able to match the five main numbers and the two Euro Numbers. At that stage, the jackpot was sitting on €27 545 858. When the 13th draw took place, the jackpot rolled down to the second division, which only had one winner. It was another German player who managed to win the jackpot even though they only matched five main numbers and one Euro Number.
Although the jackpot cap means that the EuroJackpot will never reach the records set by the US Powerball, it does make the lottery more exciting. You never know when the jackpot will reach its cap and winners in the second-prize division stand a chance to win more money. Even the biggest EuroMillions winner stands a chance of winning a bigger jackpot as the cap is set at €190 000 000. But there are still lots of good reasons to play the EuroJackpot.
When it comes to prize divisions, the EuroJackpot has 12, including the jackpot. That’s four more than the US Powerball and one less than the number of prize divisions offered by the EuroMillions. If you play US lottos because you want to win a big jackpot, you could be missing out. Your odds of winning a US Powerball jackpot are 1 in 292 201 338, while your odds of winning the EuroJackpot’s top prize are substantially better at 1 in 95,344,200.
It’s very easy to buy lottery tickets online for the EuroJackpot. All you need to do is find an online lottery website that offers a ticket messenger service. They should also provide you with scanned copies of your official EuroJackpot lottery tickets. That way you’ll know the online lottery agent is legitimate. Then, you need to choose five main numbers from 1 to 50 and two Euro Numbers from 1 to 20.
If you’re used to playing the American lottery online, you may be surprised to hear that the EuroJackpot only has one draw a week. The draw for the EuroJackpot takes place every Friday in Helsinki, Finland. Despite the fact that there are fewer EuroJackpot draws, the game has been designed to pay out more often. Your jackpot might not be that big, but there’s a better chance you’ll win the top prize.
This format has contributed to the popularity of the EuroJackpot. The EuroJackpot may be several years younger than the EuroMillions, it’s offered in 17 countries with a total population of around 270 million people. That means there are more players participating in the EuroJackpot. With all those players, the jackpot reaches nine digits faster. And because it pays outs more often, you stand a better chance of winning a prize. But that doesn’t mean you can’t play EuroMillions online too.
If you don’t want to pay taxes on your winnings, this is another good reason to play the EuroJackpot. When you play the American lottery online, all prizes over $5000 are subject to federal and state taxes. But none of the countries that participate in the EuroJackpot charge tax on lottery winnings. So you’ll receive the full prize amount no matter how much or how little you win.
You could win a EuroJackpot prize simply for matching one main number and the two Euro Numbers. As there are only 20 Euro Numbers to choose from, you have goods odds of winning something every time you play. With another record jackpot being won, more players will start taking an interest in the EuroJackpot again. There’s every chance that it will reach its €90 000 000 jackpot cap before the year is out. So buy lottery tickets online for the next draw and you could take home an incredible EuroJackpot prize.
