It may not be as famous or offer the same level of jackpot prizes as the Euro Millions, but Europe’s second largest continental lottery game – the Eurojackpot – is still very much worth a look if you like big prizes.
The Eurojackpot lottery is played amongst players in Croatia, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Germany, Hungary, Iceland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, the Netherlands, Norway, Slovakia, Slovenia, and Sweden, with Spain the only member to play in both the Eurojackpot and the Euro Millions. This is a lottery game which was formed just 5 years ago, with a single draw taking place each week in Helsinki, Finland.
How does the Eurojackpot work?
The Eurojackpot draw takes place every Friday at 21:00 local time, with players need to match the 5 main numbers and 2 bonus balls to win the jackpot. Because of a small ball pool, the Eurojackpot has been carefully designed to pay out more frequently than the Euro Millions. However, because of it being own more frequently, the jackpots seldom tend to reach the heights you can find in the Euro Millions lottery.
Cash prizes and jackpots
The top prize in the Eurojackpot lottery is paid out when players land 5 of the main numbers and the two bonus balls on their tickets. The probably of winning this prize is 1 in 95.3m, which is considerably better odds than in the Euro Millions. Second, third and fourth prize tiers are available for players with 5+1, 5+0, and 4+2 winning tickets, whilst players who match four numbers plus 1 bonus ball can pocket a fifth-tier prize. Tiers six through twelve offer cash prizes for players with as few numbers as 1 main and 2 bonus, or 2 main and 1 bonus ball.
There used to be a roll-down clause in the Eurojackpot, which meant that if the jackpot wasn’t won within 12 consecutive weeks, it would be handed down to the next prize tier on the thirteenth draw. This rule has since been removed, allowing the prize pot to continue growing. This has seen slightly larger wins of late.
To date, the biggest wins on the Eurojackpot game is €90,000,000, which was on by a player in Germany in 2016. Players in the Czech Republic, Finland, and Denmark have also won big, with cash prizes worth €90,000,000, €61,170,752, and €49,670,283 being paid out, respectively.
Variants and similar lotteries
The Eurojackpot game has two very similar rivals. Firstly, the Euro Millions, which is undoubtedly where the Eurojackpot game drew its inspiration from. This lottery game contains most other European countries which are not part of the Euro Millions (except for Spain, which offers both). The other major inspiration is the German Lotto 6 aus 49, which has provided the format for the Eurojackpot competition.
There are no variants or spin-offs of the Eurojackpot lottery. At least not at this moment in time. The same was true of the Euro Millions, although that changed in time. It is not unlikely that the Eurojackpot game will develop a few side-games and variants in the coming years.
Playing the Eurojackpot online
Players residing in countries which offer the Eurojackpot can buy tickets at the official website, or via local distributors, such as SvenskaSpel in Sweden, for instance. It is also possible to buy tickets via alternative sellers, including leading online lottery ticket websites such as The Lotter and Lotto Land. Players may end up paying more for their tickets when using these mainstream services, as opposed to the original Eurojackpot website. For players based outside of those Eurojackpot countries, though, such sites are their only chance of buying tickets.