The Euromillions draw was held for the first time on Friday 13 February 2004. This draw was held in Madrid and initially involved three countries; Spain, France and the United Kingdom. In the draw of 8 October 2004, 6 more countries joined the draw, increasing the number of participating countries from 3 to 9; Austria, Belgium, Ireland, Luxembourg, Portugal and Switzerland.
Over the past 18 years, the EuroMillions game has evolved in terms of the number of draws held per week, the number of additional games to the draw, the amount of the stake, and the rules regarding the maximum and minimum jackpot limit per draw have also changed.
Evolution of the draws
From the beginning until 2011, the draw was only held on Fridays and was priced at 2 pounds per bet. In May 2011, the draw was changed from Fridays to Tuesdays and Fridays. Since 2011, the draw has not changed with respect to the number and days of the week it is held.
In September 2016, two special draws per year were established, called ‘Big Friday’, with a minimum guaranteed jackpot of £130 million.
Price Evolution
In the early days of the draw, the price was £2 per bet. In September 2016, the price was increased to £2.50 per bet in most countries. In Switzerland the price was set at CHF 3.50 and in the United Kingdom it was set at £2.50 and in Spain it was set at £2.50. This price increase included the price of the new additional games that were then added to the main game.
In Spain, of the 0.50 cents increase, approximately 0.30 pounds went to pay for the national game ‘El Millón’, and 0.20 pounds went to pay for the European game ‘Millionaire Maker’.
Evolution of the jackpot
Changes in the minimum and maximum jackpot limits have been more frequent. Regarding the minimum guaranteed jackpot, in the early days of the draw the guaranteed jackpot was £15 million. This minimum guaranteed jackpot per draw was modified in September 2016 to coincide with changes to the stake amount and the additional games of ‘European Millionaire Maker’’. At that time, the minimum guaranteed jackpot increased from £15 million to £17 million.
With regard to the maximum jackpot, changes have been more frequent. At the beginning of the game there was no limit on the maximum jackpot. On 20 January 2006 the limit on the maximum jackpot was established by stating that the jackpot could only be accumulated 11 times in a row. Thus, if there were no winners in the 11 draws and no winners in the 12th draw, the jackpot was distributed proportionally among the winners of the next category with winning bets.
In the draw on 7 November 2009, a maximum jackpot limit of 185 million pounds was introduced, after which the jackpot was increased by a further 5 million pounds to 190 million pounds.
In the draw of 17 February 2012, the organisers modified the jackpot limit by setting it at 190 million pounds and once this amount was reached, the jackpot would no longer be increased by 5 million pounds as before, but on the contrary, it would be maintained for 2 more draws with no winners in the first category until the second draw, when it would be distributed among the winners in lower categories.
In the draw of 24 September 2016, the rules on the maximum jackpot were modified again, setting the maximum at 190 million pounds and with a maximum of 4 successive draws. If the jackpot was not distributed in those four draws, in the fourth draw the amount destined to prizes of the first category would be destined to increase the prize fund of the lower category in which there was at least one winning bet.
The maximum jackpot limit was further modified on 4 February 2020 from 190 million to 200 million with an increase of 10 million in the maximum limit in each cycle in which the jackpot reaches the maximum jackpot until reaching a maximum jackpot of 250 million pounds.
Evolution of the price
In Euromillions, 50% of the proceeds are destined to prizes, and this amount is initially distributed among 12 prize categories.
As of May 7, 2011, it was agreed to add a new prize category, the thirteenth, for those bets that match two numbers from the table of 50 numbers.
Thus, for those bets that contain two correct numbers, they will obtain a prize of approximately 4 to 5 pounds.
With this important change, the odds of winning a prize in the lottery increased substantially from 1 in 24 to 1 in 13.
On February 4, 2020, changes were introduced in the percentages destined to prizes for each category.
Translated with DeepL.com (free version)
Evolution of the probabilities
In the early days of the game and until 2011, the odds of hitting the main euromillions jackpot (5 numbers from a table of 50 numbers) and (2 stars from a table of 9 stars) were 1 in 76,275,360 chances.
(5/50) x (4/49) x (3/48) x (2/47) x (1/46) x (2/9) x (1/8) = 1/76.275.360
Since the 2011 modification and until September 2016, the odds of matching the main euromillions prize (5 numbers from a table of 50 numbers) and (2 stars from a table of 11 stars) were 1 in 116,531,800 odds.
(5/50) x (4/49) x (3/48) x (2/47) x (1/46) x (2/11) x (1/10) = 1/116.531.800
With the change in the number of stars in 2016, the odds of hitting the main prize became 1 in 139,838,160 chances.
(5/50) x (4/49) x (3/48) x (2/47) x (1/46) x (2/12) x (1/11) = 1/139,838,160.
The prizes of lower categories also became less likely to be successful with these two star extensions.
Evolution of the rules
In 2011, coinciding with the extension of the number of drawings to two drawings (Tuesday and Friday), a modification in the number of Stars was also introduced, going from 9 Stars to 11 Stars. The chances of hitting the jackpot went from 1 in 76 million to 1 in just over 116 million.
This change in the rules also increased the betting options, allowing multiple bets with up to five stars and ten numbers.
In September 2016, coinciding with the introduction of the “El Millón” game and the “Lluvia de Millones”, and also coinciding with the modification in the price of the bet, the game introduced another modification in the rules that affected the probabilities of winning a prize. Up to that moment, the game consisted of two blocks, one of 50 Numbers and the other of 11 Stars. At that time an additional Star was introduced, becoming 12 Stars.
This modification meant a decrease in the odds of winning the jackpot from 1 in 116 million to 1 in almost 140 million possibilities.
Evolution of additional games
EuroMillions HotPicks was launched on January 25, 2018 in the United Kingdom. This add-on game allows players to select between one and five numbers, based on the main EuroMillions draw numbers, offering prizes ranging from £10 to £1 million
