EuroMillions Set to Celebrate 1,000th Draw
Last Updated: Thursday 24th September 2020, 11:01
This Friday will see EuroMillions celebrate a special milestone as the 1,000th draw takes place, with a jackpot of £30 million just waiting to be won. While you wait for the big event, why not indulge in some of the game’s statistics from the past 999 draws?
Since the first draw on Friday 13th February 2004, EuroMillions has been making the dreams of players come true and raising an incredible amount of money for good causes. To date, there have been 365 jackpot winners, with France, one of the founding members of the game, leading the way with 85 wins, closely followed by Spain (82) and the UK (65).
However, despite France’s dominance, the two largest jackpots of €190 million have actually been won by ticket holders from Portugal and the UK. Adrian and Gillian Bayford from Suffolk were the first players to land the maximum EuroMillions windfall when they walked away with their nine-figure sum in August 2012, before an anonymous Portuguese player replicated their achievement in 2014. This total was almost reached again in 2016, but a Belgian player managed to land the €168 million jackpot before the cap was reached.
The Bayfords were not the biggest sterling winners, though. That title is held by Colin and Christine Weir, of Ayrshire, who claimed €185 million on Tuesday 12th July 2011, which converted to a massive £161.6 million, compared with the Bayfords’ £148.6 million, due to a favourable exchange rate at the time.
Of course, to win the jackpot you need to select the right numbers. For all of the EuroMillions statisticians, the number 50 is currently the most drawn number, having appeared a total of 120 times since the game’s debut; this is followed by 44 (117) and 4, 19 and 23 (all 115).
At the other end of the spectrum, 46 finds itself lagging behind with just 73 appearances in 999 draws. As for the Lucky Stars, 8 leads the way having come out 211 times, while 12 is some way adrift with 7, but that is due to it only being added to the matrix in September 2016 as part of some major changes to the game. For more information, head to the EuroMillions Statistics page.
If you would like to help round off the first 1,000 draws by landing a £30 million jackpot, you can pick your numbers online or play via any authorised retailer throughout the country. Best of luck, and here’s to the next 1,000 EuroMillions draws!