New EuroMillions Prizes Starting February
Last Updated: Wednesday 11th December 2019, 15:10 pm
A number of EuroMillions changes will come into force on 1st February 2020 meaning bigger and faster growing jackpots. Players could break records in the new year as the lottery’s maximum prize raises to €200 million from €190 million, with the potential to reach €250 million eventually. In addition, the number of big jackpots will increase, providing even more excitement as we head into the next decade.
Increased Jackpot Cap
The current EuroMillions jackpot cap stands at €190 million and has done since January 2012, when it increased from €185 million. There have been four winners so far to clinch the game’s top prize, the latest of which was an anonymous British player in October. The participating nations have agreed to increase the top award for the first time in eight years from 1st February 2020.
The new EuroMillions jackpot cap will be worth €200 million and, as is currently the case, the prize can stand at that amount for four draws without a winner. However, once someone wins the €200 million capped prize (or it rolls down and is shared) for the first time, the cap will rise by €10 million. It will do this every time it reaches the cap until the maximum EuroMillions prize is worth €250 million.
Take a look at the Jackpot Cap page to find out more about the fixed top prize and how it works.
€100 Million Jackpots More Often
Another of the EuroMillions changes from 1st February 2020 will see more of the prize fund channeled into the jackpot, allowing it to rise more quickly. This means that, although the €17 million minimum top prize remains the same, players will see nine-figure awards earlier than currently. Following the changes to EuroMillions, it is estimated that the jackpot will reach €100 million within eight draws, rather than 11 draws under the current rules.
Under the current game rules, 43.2% of the prize fund goes to the jackpot for draws one to six of a rollover series. For every draw after that, 27% is designated for the jackpot fund. After the change, the jackpot will receive 50% of the prize fund for draws one to five and then 42% thereafter.
The amount of money going to the Reserve Fund – which pays for special draws such as Superdraws – will also change. At the moment, the Reserve Fund collects 4.8% of the prize fund in the first six draws following the last win, with 21% boosting the fund from draw seven onwards. The new EuroMillions game rules will see 10% going to the reserve fund for draws one to five and 18% afterwards.
This could pave the way for more frequent Superdraws in future. The most recent EuroMillions Superdraw took place on Friday 7th June 2019, with no winner of the €130 million top prize. A UK player banked the full €138.7 million jackpot in the following draw.
The National Lottery has not yet confirmed if any changes will be made to other EuroMillions games, such as EuroMillions Plus or the Ireland Only Raffle.
Keep checking back for more details on the forthcoming EuroMillions changes. You never know, you could be the first to bank the jackpot at the brand new cap and make history! You could be even richer than Ireland’s biggest ever EuroMillions winners, the Naul family syndicate, who claimed €175 million in February 2019.
