The €240 Million EuroMillions Jackpot Cap Explained
The EuroMillions jackpot can roll over until it reaches a maximum of €240 Million. When it reaches that amount the top prize is capped, which also changes how certain other prizes are calculated. Learn everything you need to know about the EuroMillions jackpot cap and how it works.
How the Jackpot Cap Works
The EuroMillions jackpot starts at €17 million (around £15 million) and if it is not won the prize money increases for the next draw. This is known as a rollover. The increase in the jackpot’s value can vary between draws, as it is partly based on the number of tickets sold.
The jackpot will roll over until at least one player matches all five main numbers plus both Lucky Stars, or it reaches its €240 Million maximum jackpot. After reaching the cap, a maximum of four more draws can go by before the jackpot must be awarded. For these draws, any additional prize money that would usually have gone towards the jackpot is instead allocated to the Match 5+1 tier below it.
In the fifth draw after the jackpot cap is reached, the prize money is guaranteed to be given away in what is called a ‘Must Be Won’ draw. If no players match all seven numbers to win it, the money rolls down to the next winning tier. This means that in this fifth draw, players who match five numbers plus a Lucky Star, or even those who match just five numbers, could get a share of the €240 Million.
- The jackpot cap is currently set at €240 Million
- After the cap is hit, further funds from ticket sales go to the Match 5+1 prize
- The jackpot must be won if it remains at its cap for five draws
- The cap increases by €10 million every time it is reached and the jackpot is won
- In future the jackpot cap could rise as high as €250 million
The steps below summarise what happens in the draws following the activation of the EuroMillions cap. Select a step to view more details about what happens at that stage in the process.
The jackpot hits the €240 Million cap. Any funds that would usually go towards topping up the jackpot are instead shared by players in the next winning tier.
The €240 Million jackpot doesn’t get bigger, as it would if it rolled over before hitting the cap. Extra funds are again diverted to a lower prize tier.
Proceeds as per draw two. At this point there will likely be many winners in the 5+1 prize tier, but the prize money will also be much higher than usual.
This is the penultimate draw at the cap. If the jackpot doesn’t get won in this draw a Must Be Won draw will take place in the next one.
This is a ‘Must Be Won’ draw. If any players match five numbers plus both Lucky Stars, they will win the jackpot as normal, but if no one manages that, the entire €240 Million prize will be shared by the winners in the next tier below.
The jackpot resets to its €17 million (£15 million) starting value and the next rollover series begins. The jackpot cap is raised by €10 million, unless it is already set at its final value of €250 million.
Must Be Won Draws
Must Be Won draws guarantee that a jackpot will be given away, regardless of whether anyone matches all five numbers and two Lucky Stars. If any players do manage that in a Must Be Won draw, they will win the jackpot as normal. If that doesn't happen, the players in the 'Match 5+1' tier will share the jackpot instead. If there are no winners in either of the top two prize tiers, the money will be shared by winners in the 'Match 5' tier, and so on until the jackpot is awarded.
- 8th October 2019 - The top prize rolled over all the way from its starting value to €190 million (the jackpot cap at the time) and remained there for the next five draws.
- 17th November 2006 - The jackpot rolled down for the first – and so far only – time as there were no Match 5 + 2 winners. Instead, 20 ticket holders each won £6.7 million (€9.6 million) after matching five main numbers and one Lucky Star.
- 3rd February 2006 - After 11 draws without a winner, the jackpot had to be won. Three players – two from France and one from Portugal - matched all the numbers to share €183 million.
The Jackpot Cap Can Increase
The EuroMillions jackpot was set at €200 million in February 2020, an increase of €10 million on the previous cap of €190 million. It was the first time in eight years that changes were made to the cap. Further rules implemented at the same time allow the cap to increase more frequently in future.
Every time the jackpot cap is reached and the prize money gets won, another change to the cap will be triggered. At that point another €10 million will be added to the maximum possible jackpot, and this will happen again every time the cap gets hit, until it reaches €250 million.
The increase to the cap does not trigger until the jackpot gets won. These events occurred for the first time in December 2020 when the €200 million cap was reached and subsequently won, meaning the cap increased to €210 million. After a €210 million jackpot was won in February 2021, the cap was increased again to €220 million, which was then won in October of the same year. The cap was lifted to €230 million, and a UK player won the maximum amount in July 2022. That now makes the cap €240 million, which can only increase one more time.
How Increases to the Jackpot Cap Work
The jackpot rolls over until it hits the €240 Million cap
It stays at that amount until it is won or it rolls down in a Must Be Won draw
The jackpot resets to its starting value of €17 million
An extra €10 million is added to the jackpot cap
The jackpot rolls over until it hits the €250 million cap
It stays at that amount until it is won or it rolls down in a Must Be Won draw
The jackpot resets to €17 million, but this time the cap stays at €250 million
The potential €250 million cap makes EuroMillions the biggest lottery in Europe. The following table shows how it compares to some other national and transnational lotteries. Only Italy’s SuperEnalotto has topped EuroMillions, but that takes over a year of rollovers!
| Lottery | Jackpot cap | Biggest ever jackpot | Rollovers to reach that amount |
Odds of winning |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| EuroMillions | €250 million | €230 million | 10* | 1 in 139,838,160 |
| SuperEnalotto | Uncapped | €371 million (+€141m) |
271 (+261) |
1 in 622,614,630 (+482M) |
| Eurojackpot | €120 million | €120 million (-€110m) |
15 (+7) |
1 in 139,838.160 (-) |
| UK Lotto | Five rollovers | £66 million (-£297m) |
15 (+5) |
1 in 45,057,474 (-94M) |
| Irish Lotto | €19 million | €19 Million (-€211m) |
63 (+53) |
1 in 10,737,573 (-129M) |
| *In this instance a Superdraw bumped the jackpot up to €130 million a few weeks prior, which meant it didn’t take many rollovers to reach the cap amount. On average it takes 14 draws to reach the cap. | ||||