EuroMillions, SuperEnalotto and El Gordo: European records

EuroMillions: a lottery with a jackpot cap

Launched in 2004, EuroMillions is played in ten European countries. Players select five numbers from 1–50 and two "Lucky Stars" from 1–12, with draws on Tuesdays and Fridays. Unlike US lotteries, the jackpot is capped at €250 million. Any excess flows into the lower prize tiers.

The record grew in stages: €200 million in France in 2020, €210 million in Switzerland in February 2021, €220 million in France in October 2021, €230 million in the UK in 2022, and €240 million in Austria in December 2023.

The cap was only reached in 2025, more than once. On March 28, an Austrian player won €250 million on an online platform. On June 17, the full jackpot went to a ticket sold in Cork, Ireland, setting a national record. Later, five friends from the Paris area shared another €250 million, the largest prize ever paid in France.

SuperEnalotto: Europe's largest jackpot

On February 16, 2023, after nearly two years without a winner, SuperEnalotto paid more than €371 million, Europe's largest-ever jackpot. No one became a billionaire: the winning system entry was divided into 90 €5 shares, sold from Milan to Palermo. Each shareholder received about €4 million before Italy's 20% prize tax. Italy's previous record was €209 million in Lodi in 2019.

Europe's biggest prize ended up split into 90 shares worth around €4 million each.

El Gordo: the draw that distributes billions

Spain's Lotería de Navidad works differently. There is no rollover jackpot: the December 22 draw distributes thousands of fixed prizes, with the top prize known as El Gordo. Dating back to 1812, it is the world's largest draw by total prize money distributed.

In 2025, €2.772 billion in prizes were offered across 198 issued series. The top number was 79,432 and paid €4 million per series, or €400,000 for each €20 tenth ticket. La Bañeza in León sold 117 series of the winning number, bringing €468 million to the area, much of it via local associations.