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The EruoMillions lottery pools in all Euros made from ticket sells, which increases the jackpot and winning pool in general. This means EuroMillions is played throughout Europe, unlike national lotteries that are only played in a specific country.
As the Euro was being introduced in 1994, the European lottery EuroMillions was in development. Because it would be supported by more than one country the plans were delayed and EuroMillions wasn't established until 2004. Francias des Jeux in France, the Loterias y Apeustas del Estado in Spain, and Camelot in the United Kingdom established the EuroMillions lottery. Then on February 13, 2004, Austria, Belgium, Ireland, Luxembourg, Portugal, and Switzerland started selling EuroMillions tickets.
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The minimum jackpot of EuroMillions lottery is 15 million Euros. The maximum jackpot was 180 million Euros. People pick from 50 regular numbers and 2 special numbers called Lucky Star numbers. First, they pick 5 numbers from between 1 and 50. Then, they pick two Lucky Star numbers from between 1 and 9. Altogether, the player chooses 7 numbers, and he must pick all the right numbers for each category in order to win the jackpot prize money. However, there is a total of 12 different prizes that can be won depending on how many numbers match the winning numbers. The odds of winning a prize is 1-24.
EuroMillions like Powerball has a jackpot that rolls over each week if no one guesses all 7 numbers correctly. As a result, the jackpot grows each week if no one wins. If no one wins the EuroMillions jackpot by week twelve, then the jackpot money is distributed to the lower prizes. When this happens, the draw is called a Superdraw. After a Superdraw, the jackpot returns to 15 million Euros.
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EuroMillions donates to "Good Causes" a large percent of the revenue earned in the EuroMillions Lottery. It goes to participating countries, local communities, and for funding local charities. If someone chooses not to collect their winning ticket's prize, their money is given to the Good Causes.
An example of this occurred in 2007 when the EuroMillions jackpot was over 125 million Euros. It went past the twelve weeks and the money was distributed to the lower prizes, of which six people each won 10 million Euros. One of the winners, a person from Devon, never claimed his prize, though EuroMillions lottery operators asked him to. His winnings were donated to the Good Cause.
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On May 8, 2009, the EuroMillions lottery rolled over six times and rose to 126 million Euros. A 25-year-old woman living in Majorca was in her bed sick with the flu and didn't know she had the winning ticket until three days later when she arrived at work.
In July, 2005, Delores McNamara from Ireland (who held the previous record) won 115 million Euros.
In February, 2006, after eleven rollovers, the EuroMillions jackpot rose to 183 million Euros, and was divided among three people with winning tickets. One was from Portugal and two were from France. And of all countries, France produces the most winners of the EuroMillions lottery, earning them the title of the luckiest participating country.
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