EuroMillions is one of the most popular lotteries in Europe. You can buy a ticket in nine European countries in total. When this lottery started in February 2004, tickets could only be bought in the United Kingdom, France and Spain. About 6 months later some other countries followed because EuroMillions appeared to be a big success. These countries are Switzerland, Portugal, Luxembourg, Ireland, Belgium and Austria.
The 9 Euromillions countries
In this article we tell you all about EuroMillions in these nine countries and if there are some international differences.
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom was one of the first countries to introduce EuroMillions. It was a good decision from the beginning, since the number of EuroMillions players increased every day. Since the lottery started on February 7, 2004 there have been 76 Jackpot wins and 577,263,851 winners in total. Some of these My millionaire makers winners won very large prizes.
France
Not just British players absolutely love EuroMillions. The lottery is just as popular in France, and the large Jackpots definitely attribute to that. There have been 88 Jackpot wins in total, so more than in the UK. Among the 626,133,932 winners since February 2004, there was one very lucky player who won the Jackpot of 169,837,010.
Extra chance to win with My Million Game
One of the special elements of EuroMillions France is the My Million Game, in which one player is guaranteed to win one million euros in every draw. Participants of My Million Game receive a free entry with every line of EuroMillion numbers if they pay a single play set of 2,50 euros. It’s also possible to add ‘Etoile+’ to a standard EuroMillions ticket for an extra fee. This is definitely worth it, since you have an extra chance to win. Besides that, the bonuses also increase the value of non-Jackpot prizes. Sometimes this leads to very large Jackpots, including one worth 36,158,964 euros on June 19, 2018.
Tax in France
Lottery winnings in France are not subject to tax at the point of receipt. However, they are considered as capital, and any subsequent income generated from the winnings, like interest, would be subject to taxation. The rates can vary depending on the nature of the income and your overall tax situation.
Spain
A EuroMillions ticket in Spain only costs 2,50 euros, which makes it definitely worth it to participate. What’s more, anyone who buys a ticket also receives a free entry for the popular El Millón Game! It means that you get a ticket with a unique code. If this is the winning code during the draw, you win one million euros! If you’re lucky enough, you become one of the 513,656,471 EuroMillions Spain winners since it started on February 7, 2004. Or perhaps you become one of the lucky Jackpot winners. There have been 88 Jackpot wins so far.
Big spanish winners
Participants of EuroMillions Spain have a chance to win a large Jackpot. For example, on July 13, 2018 someone was lucky enough to win an incredible 17 million euros! However, it was a relatively small prize if you compare it to the biggest Jackpot ever won in this lottery. Friday October 6, 2017 is a historic date, since the Jackpot worth 190 million euros fell. It was just as high as the largest EuroMillions Jackpot ever! It was won by one very lucky player who bought the ticket on the island of Gran Canaria, in Las Palmas.
In Spain, lottery winnings that exceed €40,000 are taxed at a flat rate of 20%. This tax is deducted at the source, meaning that you’ll receive the winnings after tax has been applied.
Austria
So far, there have been 121,556,445 EuroMillions Austria winners and 16 Jackpot wins. A large number, if you consider that this lottery is only fifteen years old. EuroMillions started in Austria on October 8, 2004 and has been a big success ever since. The fact that Austria has a very low ticket price, 2,20 euros, and the longest claim period of any EuroMillions country definitely attributes to that.
What was the largest Jackpot in Austria
In some lotteries you only have a limited amount of time to claim your lottery prize. However, in Austria you can take your time since the claim period is three years. The winner of the largest Jackpot did claim his or her prize very quick though. No surprise, since the lucky participant won 45,447,459 euros! This Jackpot fell on September 4, 2018. It was not the largest Jackpot in the history of EuroMillions Austria though. This is s still 100 million euros, which was won on March 6, 2009. It’s a date no one participating in EuroMillions will ever forget!
Great prizes besides the Jackpot
The chance that you win the EuroMillions Austria lottery is quite slim, but luckily there are some other great prizes as well. For example, you can win some great prizes when you play Joker. In that case you pay a small fee on top of your ticket to receive six digits from a 0-9 range. You receive a prize when the numbers match in the same order as the appear during the draw.
Lottery winnings in Austria are generally not subject to tax. This applies to winnings from both domestic and international lotteries.
Ireland
A ticket for EuroMillions Ireland only costs 2,50 euros, so there’s actually no reason not to participate. When you buy a ticket you enter the so-called ‘Ireland Only Raffle’. Perhaps you become on the ten winners of 5000 euros in each game. Sometimes a special draw worth 1 million euros takes place as well. 5000 euros is great, but imagine if you win a million!
Many large Jackpot wins
The largest Jackpot ever won in EuroMillions Ireland was worth 187,937,614 euros. The winner probably couldn’t believe it when he or she checked the winning numbers on June 25, 2013! In total there have been 14 Jackpot wins since October 8, 2004. The last Jackpot fell not too long ago, on February 19 of this year.
An extra chance to win with EuroMillions Plus
The other prizes of EuroMillions Ireland are great as well. You have an extra chance to win thanks to the ‘EuroMillions Plus’ option. If you pay an additional draw, your five main EuroMillions numbers will be part of extra draws with prizes up to 500.000 euros! In total there have been 54,501,239 winners in this lottery. They’ve won prizes such as 5000, 10.000 or 50.000 euros. Perhaps you become winner number 54,501,240!
Lottery winnings in Ireland are tax-free at the moment of winning. However, if you decide to invest the winnings, any income generated from that investment would be subject to taxation.
Belgium
The last Jackpot win of EuroMillions Belgium took place only a couple of months ago, on November 16, 2018. Back then a lucky player won 50,3450,148 euros to be precisely. He or she is probably enjoying the large amount of money right now! He or she probably used the so called ‘My Bonus’ option of the Belgian National Lottery. It’s al extra game for all Belgian EuroMillion players, which is part of a standard ticket of 2,50 euros. For every line you purchase you receive a special raffle code. The standard ‘My Bonus’ prize for a winner is 500 euros.
Who are the Jackpot winners?
Winners of large EuroMillions prizes usually remain anonymous, and Belgium is no exception. Some information has been released about the Jackpot winners in this country though. For example, the record breaker in 2016 was a guy who said he liked football, cooking with fish and Robert DeNiro. Good to know!
Tax in Belgium
In Belgium, lottery winnings are generally tax-exempt at the federal level. However, the tax implications could change if you engage in professional gambling. In such cases, winnings could be treated as income and be subject to tax. Also, interest earned from the winnings is subject to the standard taxation laws.
Portugal
Portugal writes history with historical EuroMillions wins. Every time you buy a line of EuroMillions numbers in Portugal you will receive a unique raffle code for the weekly M1lhão draw, which is all included in the cost of a €2.50 ticket. One winning M1lhão code will be randomly selected on the Friday evening and if you have the matching ticket you win €1 million. A Portugal lottery players shares the record for the superdraw EuroMillions of €190 million. The player won in October 2014. The winner decided to stay anonymous.
unique raffle for the weekly draw
There are many reasons why EuroMillions is incredibly popular in Portugal. For example, if you buy a line of numbers in this country, you receive a unique raffle for the weekly draw. It’s also part of the standard ticket, which only costs 2,50 euros. The fact that there have been 394,898,518 winners and 68 Jackpot wins also makes the Portugese lottery interesting. So there is quite a chance you’ll join the list of winners!
Largest EuroMillions win in history
Portugal joined the list of participating countries of EuroMillions on October 8, 2004. Since then, there have been many wins. The largest win ever in EuroMillions even came from Portugal! A Portugese player became multi-millionaire in an instant when he won 190 million euros in October 2014. Incredible! The winner is anonymous and probably enjoys his multi-millionaire lifestyle right now.
An exciting Friday evening
Every Friday evening is very exciting in Portugal because of the EuroMillions draw. During the evening the winning EuroMillions is selected randomly. When a player has a ticket with matching numbers, he or she wins 1 million euros!
Lottery winnings in Portugal are subject to a flat tax rate of 20%. Unlike some other countries, Portugal applies this rate to the entire sum of the winnings.
Luxembourg
Luxembourg is a small nation, but that doesn’t mean the EuroMillions prizes are small as well. What’s more, a lucky player won 65.7 million euros in September 2013! Also special is the fact that 3 of the 25 jackpot winners on October 28, 2016 were living in Luxembourg. This is very special because for its small population.
How many Jackpots have been won in Luxembourg?
If you like to participate in EuroMillions Luxembourg, you have to pay 2,50 per line. By doing so, you automatically play in the in the ‘Extra Lux Draw’, which gives you an extra chance to win. Or take part in the Joker by paying an additional fee. It’s definitely worth it, if you take a look at the Jackpots that have been won in this lottery. Since October 8, 2004 there have been 2 Jackpot wins in total.
In Luxembourg, lottery winnings are not subject to any taxes, making it one of the more favorable jurisdictions for lottery players in terms of taxation.
Switzerland
Last, but not least, there’s Switzerland. This country organizes EuroMillions draws since October 8, 2004. Every EuroMillions participant probably remembers the largest Jackpot hit in this lottery, since it took place on October 2, 2018. It was worth an incredible 183,897,039 Swiss Francs! It was also the last Jackpot that has been won so far, but more will probably follow in the upcoming years.
Tax lottery in Swiss
In Switzerland, lottery winnings up to CHF 1,000,000 are tax-free. However, any amount exceeding this is subject to a withholding tax rate of around 35%.