Winners in many prize tiers for the EuroMillions draw on Tuesday 16th December found themselves sharing their prizes with a larger number of other players, meaning that their cash amount was lower than they would have expected. There were five ticket holders who matched five main numbers and one Lucky Star in that draw, each winning €222,312, whereas in the corresponding draw in the previous week, one player matched the same and collected €1 million. Similarly, this week’s 11 Match Five winners banked €33,683, with Tuesday 9th December seeing five players in the same category bagging €68,230 each.
There was one big difference between the two draws - this week’s winning balls were all under 31. A large proportion of players who choose their numbers manually will pick them based on memorable dates like birthdays and anniversaries which, by their nature, will never be greater than 31. This means that if the winning line in a draw features a majority of low numbers, more players are likely to have chosen them and the prize pool will be shared amongst more people, each receiving smaller than usual amounts.
Similarly, the recent run of four Lotto rollovers saw a large proportion of numbers over 31 being drawn which contributed to the lack of a top tier winner. If more people spread out their selections, the multi-million pound jackpot may well have been won before it rolled down to the next winning prize tier last night. Visit the Lotto Results page of Lottery.co.uk to find the winning line, a full prize breakdown and the 50 Lotto Raffle codes.
Euro-Millions.com offers a handy EuroMillions Number Generator which will help you avoid the pitfalls of choosing the same numbers as everybody else by offering you a truly random selection for you to play when you buy your tickets for Friday’s draw. By not limiting yourself to numbers up to 31, you stand a better chance of not having to share a prize with as many other ticket holders, leaving you to enjoy the tidy sum that has bolstered your bank account just before Christmas.
Tickets are now on sale for Friday’s draw both online and at authorised retailers and will be available up until 7:30pm GMT (8:30pm CET) on the night of the draw. Good luck!