Ranking The Countries
Out of the 380 jackpot winners in the 14-year history of EuroMillions, France can lay claim to the highest percentage. There have been 87 winners from the country, ahead of Spain with 84. The UK is next on the list with 70 winners, having recently powered ahead of Portugal (66).
Belgium (29) and Switzerland (16) may not be in the top four, but both countries have been able to celebrate big wins in recent months. A Swiss player scooped CHF157 million (€135.3 million/£119.8 million) on Tuesday 19th December, while a Belgian man won €153.8 million (£134.8 million) last June and came forward to reveal that he was a big Al Pacino fan and liked the traditional Flemish dish of stew with fries.
Austria has had 14 jackpot winners and Ireland has had 12, including the most recent success on Friday 29th December when a family syndicate from Dublin pocketed €38.9 million. Luxembourg has been the least successful country in terms of jackpot winners with just two.
Does Location Make A Difference?
It does not matter which country you play EuroMillions in, as the chances of winning are exactly the same for every line of numbers. The relative success of each nation can largely be explained by their respective levels of participation. For example, countries such as France, Spain and the UK have far larger populations than Austria or Ireland, and as such more potential players, so it makes sense that a greater percentage of winners come from these nations. Luxembourg has a tiny population of around 600,000, so it is understandable that it has had just a couple of winners.
Another factor behind the success of certain countries is the different way that players can choose their numbers. In Portugal, for instance, players are allowed to use systematic entries where they can choose more than the five main numbers and two Lucky Stars. Each combination is played within the numbers chosen, and players have to pay for each combination. In other countries, players would have to manually work out each combination and enter them separately to achieve the same effect, which is far more time-consuming.
Jackpot Chances
The odds of winning the EuroMillions jackpot are 1 in 139,838,160, but they are absolutely zero if you do not enter the game. Players can take part on Friday night by going to an authorised retailer in one of the participating countries, or by picking numbers online.