What Are The Chances Of Winning The EuroMillions?
EuroMillions can reach some amazingly big jackpot prizes. It's been known to rollover enough times to top £190 Million (€220 Million).
Now the reason some lottery games rollover more, is because they are harder to win. The lottery companies design them this way because regular big headline grabbing jackpots keep people interested, and therefore sell a lot more tickets.
But It's Not All That Bad
Now EuroMillions is not nearly as hard to win as some lottery games.
If you played the US Powerball for example, your chances of winning are 1-in-195 million.
Or if you wanted to try the Italian SuperEnalotto game then you'd be looking at jaw dropping staggeringly tough odds of 1-in-622 million.
Your chances of winning the EuroMillions jackpot are pretty tame compared to that at 'just' 1-in-116 million.
In other words you would have to buy 2 Powerball tickets to get similar odds as 1 ticket on EuroMillions, and an amazing 6 tickets to do better on the Italian game.
But even so, the odds are still pretty tough, even for a lottery game.
How Does It Compare To Easier Games?
For comparison, you would need to buy 8 EuroMillions tickets to get odds similar to 1 UK Lotto ticket (a 6 balls from 49 game).
So you might want to think about playing in a EuroMillions group to help balance out those odds a little.
What About The Smaller Prizes?
It's useful to know that your chances of winning at least something with EuroMillions are now 1-in-13. This changed from 1-in-24 when the new prize structure was introduced in April 2011.
So if you bought 13 tickets it is likely, although not guaranteed, that you would win a prize.
Here are the specific odds for all of the EuroMillions prizes:
| Main Numbers | Lucky Stars | Odds | Estimated Prize |
|---|---|---|---|
| 5 | 2 | 1 in 116,531,800 | £14 million |
| 5 | 1 | 1 in 6,473,989 | £211,823 |
| 5 | 0 | 1 in 3,236,995 | £35,303 |
| 4 | 2 | 1 in 517,920 | £2,824 |
| 4 | 1 | 1 in 28,774 | £137.20 |
| 4 | 0 | 1 in 14,387 | £68.60 |
| 3 | 2 | 1 in 11,771 | £40.10 |
| 2 | 2 | 1 in 822 | £12.80 |
| 3 | 1 | 1 in 654 | £9.80 |
| 3 | 0 | 1 in 327 | £8.20 |
| 1 | 2 | 1 in 157 | £6.90 |
| 2 | 1 | 1 in 46 | £5.40 |
| 2 | 0 | 1 in 23 | £2.70 |
Watch Out - This hurts Your Chances Of Winning
Don't get ripped off when buying tickets though. Some online sellers charge anywhere up to 5 times the normal ticket price, and in some cases even more.
If you can't buy from a normal retailer either because you can't get to one, or you simply don't live in the right country, read our guide - how to buy EuroMillions tickets online - before deciding which online ticket service to use. It could save you a lot on ticket prices, which means you can buy more tickets for your money.
Or for a better chance of winning without paying a lot more money, choose a syndicate instead.
More Lottery Questions Answered:-
How To Pick Winning Lottery Numbers
What Is A Lottery Syndicate?
What Countries Play EuroMillions?
How Does The EuroMillions Millionaire Raffle Work?
How Do You Avoid Combinations That Will Never Win The Lottery?
