EuroMillions Jackpot Cap To Increase In February 2020
The EuroMillions jackpot will be allowed to climb even higher from 1st February 2020 after the participating national lotteries decided to make a couple of exciting changes to the game to help offer even more big prizes.
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A First €200 Million Jackpot Beckons
There is currently a jackpot cap of €190 million in place on EuroMillions, so the top prize is locked in place when it reaches this level and any funds that would normally go on top are instead diverted to players who match five main numbers and just one Lucky Star.
However, the jackpot will not be capped at €190 million from the start of February and will be able to keep rising until it hits €200 million. It will then be fixed at this amount until someone wins the jackpot or four draws have passed, when a Must Be Won draw will be scheduled. If no tickets match all the numbers in the fifth draw at €200 million, the jackpot will be shared between players in the highest category in which there are winners.
The new rules also allow for the jackpot cap to increase by €10 million after each time a new record is set. For example, once a jackpot of €200 million has been won and it has reset to €17 million, the cap will become €210 million. The maximum it can reach will be €250 million.
The change has been announced following a remarkable run of 22 rollovers earlier this year, when the jackpot grew from its base amount right the way up to its €190 million cap. It stayed there for four draws and so a Must Be Won draw had to take place. A single UK ticket holder matched all the numbers to equal the record for the largest EuroMillions win of all time.
It was the fourth time in history that a player had won €190 million, following on from UK couple Adrian and Gillian Bayford in 2012, a Portuguese participant in 2014 and a Spanish entry in 2017. The largest jackpot ever won in Ireland was the €175 million claimed by a family syndicate from County Dublin in February of this year.
More Big Jackpots On The Way
It has been an incredible year for big jackpots and that trend is set to continue, with further changes also coming in to help the top prize grow more quickly.
From February, the jackpot will receive a larger percentage of the prize fund - 50 percent for the first five draws after someone has won, followed by 42 percent for subsequent draws. The jackpot currently receives 43.2 percent for the first six draws, before dropping to 27 percent.
The percentages will be reduced for the other 12 prize categories, while the amount allocated to the Reserve Fund will also change. The Reserve Fund is required to ensure that the minimum jackpot of €17 million can always be offered, while it also pays for special events such as Superdraws.
The last Superdraw took place in June, but the upcoming changes to EuroMillions will see them held three times a year from 2020. Superdraws increase the jackpot to a guaranteed amount such as €130 million, and it was after one in February that Ireland’s record winners landed their astonishing €175 million payout.
Everything else about EuroMillions will stay the same, so you won’t have to pay any more for a ticket and there won’t be any more balls added to make it harder to win. You will just have the opportunity to play for bigger jackpots on a more regular basis and perhaps one day become Europe’s first €200 million winner.
12th December 2019
