Euro Millions: The Basics of It All
In May, a few weeks back, an unidentified 25-year-old lady from Spain walked away with euro 126 million (dollar 163 million) as jackpot at the Euro Millions! This is the largest single jackpot so far that has been won by a single ticket-holder in the lottery.
What is the Euro Millions:
It is a lottery system that covers nine countries across Europe. The winners are picked every Friday evening in the French capital of Paris. Tickets cost only euro 2.00 or euro 3.00 for the 'plus' option in Ireland. You can buy the ticket in Spain, United Kingdom, France, Austria, Belgium, Ireland, Luxembourg, Portugal and Switzerland. The Euro Millions was set up in 2004 by three different companies coming together in France, Spain and the United Kingdom ' Francaise des Jueux, Loterias y Apuestas del Estado and Camelot.
There is no tax on any of the prizes including the jackpot in any of the countries except Switzerland. Most people like to play this lottery is because the entire prize money is paid out at once.
How to play:
If you want to buy a ticket, you will have to select five main numbers from 1 to 50. You will also need to select two lucky star numbers from 1 to 9. There are several more side-bet choice numbers and options available but these two are mandatory. There are two machines with numbered balls used for the picking the winner. One of the machines has 50 balls for the main list and the other has nine balls for the lucky star list. The final Euro million winning numbers are then drawn by the machines at random. Euro Million results are broadcast across Europe and available online too.
Eligibility:
A ticket holder must be 18 years of age but in some countries like the United Kingdom, even 16-year-olds can buy a Euro Million ticket. A ticket buyer should be a permanent resident of the country he buys the ticket in. The tickets can be bought at a kiosk or even online.
Ireland exception:
It is only in Ireland that you can play the Plus option. By paying an additional euro 1 for every ticket, you can go for an additional draw that offers a top prize of euro 500,000 every week.
Can you win?
1. Many people junk Euro Million as a waste of time and money stating that it is impossible to win but those into statistics say the odds of picking up any one of the prizes is 1: 24.
2. They further say that not getting any one of the main nine numbers from the 50 balls but getting both the lucky stars is about 1:62. But then, there are no winnings for getting the two lucky stars without getting one main number.
3. Also 6% of the total prize fund is added to a 'booster fund' which further jacks up the jackpot amount.
4. Incidentally, if no one wins a jackpot in a particular week, the amount simply rolls over to the jackpot of the next week. But if no one is able to claim the jackpot for 11 consecutive weeks then the prize is distributed among all the winners of the next level.
About the Author:
Terro White