Everything You Need to Know about the EuroJackpot Lottery

EuroJackpot is an exciting European lottery that is becoming increasingly popular all over the world. Although it is frequently in the shadow of EuroMillions, EuroJackpot draws have generous jackpots that make it a definite pick for your lottery play. This guide to playing EuroJackpot will teach you about the similarities and the differences between the two trans-European lotteries. The guide will answer your many questions as well: How did the EuroJackpot come to be? What are the advantages of playing EuroJackpot compared to EuroMillions? What is the biggest jackpot you can win when you play EuroJackpot? Hopefully this guide will give you a better understanding about the EuroJackpot lottery!

What Is EuroJackpot?

EuroJackpot was launched in March 2012 and the participating countries in the lottery today are Croatia, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Germany, Hungary, Iceland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, and Sweden. EuroJackpot tickets are on sale in each of the participating countries and right here on LottoSmile. The EuroJackpot starts at €10 million and rolls over until it reaches the lottery’s jackpot cap of €120 million. EuroJackpot draws take place every Tuesday and Friday at 21:00 local time in Helsinki.

How to Play, and How to Win EuroJackpot

EuroJackpot is an easy game to play and you can play EuroJackpot online with a few clicks of your mouse. You fill out your ticket forms with five numbers from a guess range of 1-50 as well as two additional numbers known as the Euro Numbers from a 1-12 range.

If you want to know how to win EuroJackpot, here’s the answer. Match all five main numbers and the two additional numbers and you’ve won the jackpot! Partial matches of the numbers drawn are also great as there are 11 tiers of secondary prizes.

But what is it that makes this lottery so exciting? What is it about EuroJackpot that has so many people from all around the world eager to participate?

There are many things that contribute to making the EuroJackpot the success that it is today. The main reason seems to be the fact that EuroJackpot is designed to let players win much more often compared to other big lotteries!

How Easy Is It to Win EuroJackpot Prizes?

To play EuroJackpot you choose five main numbers from a range of 1 to 50, and two additional numbers, called Euro Numbers, from a range of 1 to 12. Match all the numbers and you will win the EuroJackpot jackpot!

The EuroJackpot offers many generous secondary prizes as well. Take a look at the odds of winning a prize:

One of the most exciting times to play EuroJackpot is when the lottery reaches its jackpot cap of €120million. Although the jackpot can go no higher, excess prize money passes down to winning tickets in the next highest prize division. This gives you even greater odds of winning a huge lottery prize!

It should be noted that the EuroJackpot jackpot is the same in all participating countries, but secondary prize amounts can vary by country based on the number of winners, local lottery taxes, and other reasons.

EuroJackpot vs EuroMillions

The first thing you'll want to know is what is the difference between the two pan-European lotteries? EuroJackpot is played in more countries but EuroMillions claims to have more ticket sales. How do the two lotteries stack up when compared side by side? Let’s have a look:

How Are the Two European Lotteries Similar?

Let's compare the main features of EuroJackpot and EuroMillions.

• Both lotteries follow a similar format, with players trying to guess the five main numbers from a guess range of 1-50 and two more additional numbers from a field of 12.

• The EuroJackpot and EuroMillions both have draws on Tuesday and Friday evening.

• The odds of winning the jackpot prize are both 1 in 139,838,160

• Tickets for both lotteries are available in Spain, the only country which takes part in both EuroMillions and EuroJackpot.

How Are EuroJackpot and EuroMillions Different?

Let's take a look at the differences between these two popular lotto games.

• The EuroMillions jackpot cap is €250 million while the EuroJackpot can reach a maximum of €120 million.

• The starting jackpot for EuroMillions is €17 million while the EuroJackpot starts off at €10 million.

• EuroJackpot has 12 prize divisions while EuroMillions offers 13. 

Which European Lottery Should You Play?

As you can see, both EuroJackpot and EuroMillions are pretty similar. EuroJackpot and EuroMillions are Europe’s two biggest lotteries, and although both of them have the same guess matrix, EuroMillions offers a higher starting jackpot and cap. However, if you’re playing from Europe, you’re much more likely to find EuroJackpot tickets, as they’re offered in 18 European countries while EuroMillions tickets are only available in 9. Read our informative EuroMillions lottery guide for details about that game.

It looks like EuroJackpot and EuroMillions will continue their battle for European lottery supremacy for some time. There is only one thing that you can do!

Play both the EuroJackpot and the EuroMillions lottery so that you don't miss any of this exciting lottery action!

EuroJackpot Lottery History

Initially proposed in 2006 to compete with the only other pan-European lottery that counts, the EuroMillions, EuroJackpot managed to garner the support of Germany, Finland, Denmark, Slovenia, Italy, the Netherlands, and Estonia and was officially launched in 2011. The first draw was held on 23 March 2012. Spain joined the lottery in June 2012, when the ticket concession was granted to the National Organization of Spanish blind people (ONCE). Croatia, Iceland, Latvia, Lithuania, Norway, and Sweden all became part of the EuroJackpot in February 2013.

Through the end of January 2013, the EuroJackpot lottery had a ‘rolldown’ cap. If the lottery’s jackpot was not won in 12 consecutive draws, the entire prize would roll down in the 13th draw and be paid out to the winner(s) in the next highest prize tier. As a result of this clause in the EuroJackpot rules, in an August 2012 draw a German player who matched the 5 main numbers and only one of the supplementary numbers captured a jackpot prize of €27,545,857.50 in the lotto’s second prize tier.

Hungary and Czech Republic joined in October 2014 and Slovakia joined a year later, boosting the number of participating countries to 17.

That same month, EuroJackpot changed the Euro Numbers setup in the game matrix. Rather than choosing the two additional numbers from a guess range of 1-8, the range increased to 1-10. Although the change was not overly dramatic, it did make the odds of winning the jackpot a bit more difficult.

Poland became the 18th participating country in EuroJackpot when it joined the consortium in September 2017.

In September 2021, it was announced that several changes to the game would be implemented starting 25 March 2022. They include a new jackpot cap of € 120 million, an additional draw every Tuesday, and an increased guess range for the lottery's two Euro Numbers. 

The Biggest EuroJackpot Jackpots

The EuroJackpot cap is currently set at €120 million. However, before some rule changes in March 2022, the maximum amount the top prize could reach was €90 million.

On 15 May 2015, the €90 million cap was reached for the first time when a Czech player won a prize equivalent in his local currency to CZK 2.5 billion. In the draw on 14 October 2016 the jackpot again reached its cap and a single player from Germany won the entire €90 million prize. The jackpot reached its cap for a third time just a few weeks later. Five lucky ticket holders (3 from Germany and 1 each from Denmark and the Netherlands) split the top prize in the draw on 6 January 2017. Each of the winners received an €18 million prize.

The maximum EuroJackpot prize was awarded once again in the draw on 9 February 2018 when a syndicate of five from Finland each won €18 million, out of the total €90 million prize.

EuroJackpot had a record-breaking rollover streak in 2018 when it hit its jackpot cap of €90 million, an amazing prize it continued to offer for six additional draws. During that time, the excess prize money rolled down to the second division which then distributed at least €20,000,000 in each of those draws to players who matched the five main EuroJackpot numbers and just one Euro Number. Finally, on 6 July 2018, two tickets purchased in Germany matched the five main numbers and the two Euro Numbers and shared the jackpot. Each one won €45 million. In addition, 24 second division prizes of €999,914.60 were awarded in that draw.

The jackpot cap was reached again in November 2018 when the €90 million prize was split between five winning tickets. Each winner received a prize of €18 million.

In the draw on 10 May 2019, with a €90 million jackpot again up for grabs, two tickets matched the winning numbers and split the prize. Winners from North Rhine-Westphalia in Germany and Poland each won €45 million. This was the highest lottery prize ever won in Poland. Eleven players matched the five main numbers and one of the additional Euro Numbers to win EuroJackpot's second division prize. Players from Spain, Denmark, Czech Republic (2), and German (7) each won €994,790.

A record EuroJackpot payout of €91,938,695 was won by a single ticket purchased in Finland in the draw on 23 August 2019. The winning numbers were 15, 18, 19, 41, 42 and the supplementary numbers were 4 and 6. The prize amount was higher than EuroJackpot's jackpot cap of €90 million because the winner had purchased a systematic ticket, which also had two 5+1 wins and several wins in other prize divisions. According to Finnish media reports, the ticket was purchased at the K-Supermarket Delicatessen in Siilinjärvi. In addition, the ticket was apparently purchased for a 50-member syndicate. This was the 16th time that EuroJackpot has been won in Finland!

On 20 May 2022, a €110,213,537.30 jackpot was won after 13 consecutive rollovers! At the time, it was the biggest EuroJackpot prize awarded and was less than €10 million away from the €120 million cap. A single ticket from the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia correctly guessed the winning numbers 4, 22, 28, 32, and 47, along with the two Euro numbers 1 and 2. Less than two months later, the EuroJackpot cap of €120 million was won by a single ticketholder from west Jutland, Denmark on 22 July 2022! Not only did this break the EuroJackpot record, but it was also the biggest jackpot prize ever awarded to a Danish player. This incredible amount was reached for a second time in November 2022 when a single ticket purchased in Germany matched the draw's maximum €120 million jackpot prize. A ticket bought in Bremen, Germany won the EuroJackpot jackpot on 31 January 2023 for €107 million. The prize is the fourth largest in EuroJackpot history.

On 23 June 2023, a player from Germany again hit the cap, winning a whopping €120,000,000 jackpot. Just six months later, another winner from Norway also matched the €120 million maximum jackpot prize on 16 January 2024. This is the biggest prize ever awarded to a Norwegian lottery player! Lastly, two lucky winners claimed the Division 1 prize in the December 6, 2024 draw, sharing the jackpot.

Play EuroJackpot!

Hopefully this guide has given you plenty of information about the exciting EuroJackpot lottery. Do you think it's the best lottery in Europe? Have you read our informative SuperEnalotto Guide? No matter what you think about other European lotteries, such as SuperEnalotto or the exciting EuroDreams lottery, be sure to buy your EuroJackpot tickets today and be in for the upcoming jackpot! Who knows, perhaps you will become the next EuroJackpot millionaire!