EuroMillions odds: what are your chances of winning?

Euromillions has 13 prize categories.

But here is the number that matters most if you want a quick summary: the overall odds of winning any prize in EuroMillions are approximately 1 in 13. That means for every 13 tickets sold, roughly one wins something.

EuroMillions is known for its life-changing jackpots, but with great rewards come steep odds at the top end. Each draw involves selecting 5 main numbers from 1 to 50 and 2 Lucky Stars from 1 to 12. This setup produces 139,838,160 possible combinations for a single bet, which is exactly the probability of hitting the jackpot. The lower tiers, however, are far more accessible, and many players win smaller prizes regularly.

Prize tiers, odds, and estimated prizes

Below is a full breakdown of all 13 prize categories, including the odds of winning each tier and the approximate prize you can expect. Fixed prizes are set amounts; the jackpot and upper tiers are funded from a percentage of ticket sales and grow with rollovers.

Prize amounts for tiers 2 to 13 vary between draws because they are calculated as a percentage of the prize fund from each draw’s ticket sales. The figures above are typical ranges based on historical draws. Some of these odds have been sourced from Wikipedia.

Understanding the jackpot odds

Winning the jackpot is undeniably rare, but that is part of what makes EuroMillions so exciting. The jackpot starts at a minimum of €17 million and can grow considerably from there. People do win, even with such high odds, and jackpot wins occur regularly, often multiple times per quarter across the participating countries.

How rollovers work and the €250 million cap

When no ticket matches all five main numbers plus both Lucky Stars in a given draw, the jackpot rolls over to the next draw. The full prize pool from the unclaimed jackpot tier is added to the following week’s jackpot, which is why the prize can grow quickly over a series of draws with no winner.

EuroMillions enforces a maximum jackpot cap of €250 million. Once the jackpot reaches this ceiling, it stays there for a limited number of draws. If it is still not won after a set number of draws at the cap (currently five draws), a “must-be-won” draw is triggered. In that draw, if no one hits the jackpot, the prize money rolls down to the next winning tier, meaning more players at lower prize levels share the top fund. This ensures the money always reaches a winner eventually.

Unclaimed prizes below the jackpot level are handled differently depending on where a ticket was purchased. In the UK, for example, unclaimed prizes are returned to the National Lottery Good Causes fund after 180 days.

How the odds are calculated

EuroMillions uses a combinatorial probability formula to determine the odds for each tier. The idea is to count how many unique combinations are possible when selecting numbers from two separate pools.

• Main pool: Choose 5 numbers from 50
• Star pool: Choose 2 Lucky Stars from 12

The number of combinations in each pool is calculated using the formula for combinations (often written as “n choose k”):

• Combinations for 5 main numbers: 2,118,760
• Combinations for 2 Lucky Stars: 66

Multiplying those two figures gives the total number of possible outcomes for a single EuroMillions ticket: 2,118,760 × 66 = 139,838,160. This is why the jackpot odds are exactly 1 in 139,838,160. For lower tiers, the calculation adjusts to count how many combinations match the required numbers while missing others.

Does Strategy Affect Probability?

From a mathematical standpoint, no strategy alters the actual odds—each combination is just as likely as another. However, strategic playing can:

• Help you avoid splitting prizes (e.g., don’t play 1,2,3,4,5,6)
• Diversify number groups (spread between low/high and odd/even)
• Use statistical trends (hot/cold numbers) to build a system

These strategies won’t increase your odds, but they might affect your experience and prize-sharing outcome.

Odds vs. Expected Value

Odds tell you the probability of winning, but expected value (EV) tells you what a ticket is “worth” based on prize payouts and likelihood.

For instance, lower-tier prizes may have better odds but offer low returns. On the other hand, while the jackpot is unlikely, it gives the highest EV due to the life-changing amount.

Players who focus on long-term balance often look at this when deciding how often to play and how much to spend.

How EuroMillions odds compare to other lotteries

Understanding EuroMillions odds in isolation only tells part of the story. Here is how the jackpot odds compare to two other major lotteries:

• EuroMillions: 1 in 139,838,160 for the jackpot. Draws twice weekly (Tuesday and Friday). Jackpot starts at €17 million.
• UK National Lottery (Lotto): 1 in 45,057,474 for the jackpot. Significantly better odds than EuroMillions, but the starting jackpot is much smaller, usually around £2 million.
• US Powerball: 1 in 292,201,338 for the jackpot. Far steeper odds than EuroMillions, though Powerball jackpots can reach hundreds of millions of dollars.

EuroMillions sits in the middle ground: harder to win than UK Lotto but offering much larger starting prizes, and easier to win than Powerball while still offering life-changing sums. If you are looking for the best overall odds of winning any prize, UK Lotto has a slight edge at around 1 in 9.3, compared to EuroMillions at approximately 1 in 13.

Tips to improve your effective chances of winning

The odds for any single ticket are fixed by mathematics. No number selection strategy changes the underlying probability. That said, there are practical ways to improve your effective chances without altering the game’s structure.

Join a syndicate

A syndicate is a group of players who pool their money to buy multiple tickets together and share any winnings. If a syndicate of 20 people each buys one ticket, they hold 20 entries in the same draw. Their combined odds of winning any prize become roughly 20 times better than a single player. The trade-off is that any prize is split among the group, but for most players the increased frequency of wins makes syndicates a popular choice.

Use systematic entries

Some lottery operators offer systematic or “system” entries, which allow you to select more than 5 main numbers or more than 2 Lucky Stars. The ticket then automatically generates every possible combination from your chosen set. This significantly increases your coverage of possible winning combinations, though it also increases the cost proportionally.

Play consistently rather than sporadically

Each draw is independent, so past results do not affect future ones. However, playing consistently across many draws gives you more chances over time compared to buying a single ticket occasionally. Setting a fixed weekly budget and sticking to it is a straightforward way to maintain regular participation without overspending.

Consider draws with larger jackpots

The odds of winning a prize do not change based on jackpot size. But when the jackpot has rolled over to a very large amount, the prize fund for lower tiers can also increase. Some players choose to buy more entries during high-rollover draws to maximise their potential return for the same stake.

Remember: no strategy guarantees a win. All tips above improve your statistical exposure to the game, not the outcome of any individual draw.

Glossary of key odds and lottery terms

If you are new to lottery odds, a few terms are worth understanding before you start comparing probabilities.

Probability

Probability is the mathematical measure of how likely an event is to happen. It is expressed as a number between 0 (impossible) and 1 (certain), or as a ratio such as “1 in 139 million”. In lottery terms, a probability of 1 in 139,838,160 means that out of all possible ticket combinations, exactly one matches the jackpot numbers.

Combination

A combination is a selection of items where the order does not matter. When you pick 5 numbers from 50, the numbers 3, 12, 27, 34, 45 and the numbers 45, 34, 27, 12, 3 are the same combination. The total number of combinations determines how many unique tickets are possible.

Lucky Stars

Lucky Stars are the two bonus numbers in EuroMillions, drawn from a separate pool of 1 to 12. They are separate from the main 5 numbers and must be matched correctly to qualify for certain prize tiers. Matching or missing the Lucky Stars is what separates many of the adjacent prize tiers from each other.

Prize tier

A prize tier is a category of winning outcome based on how many numbers a ticket matches. EuroMillions has 13 prize tiers, ranging from matching just 2 main numbers (no Lucky Stars) at the bottom, to matching all 5 main numbers plus both Lucky Stars at the top (the jackpot).

Odds against

Odds against describes the ratio of non-winning outcomes to winning outcomes. When people say the jackpot odds are “1 in 139 million”, they are expressing how many possible tickets there are for every one winning combination. The higher the number, the less likely the outcome.

Rollover

A rollover occurs when no ticket wins the jackpot in a given draw. The unclaimed jackpot prize is carried forward and added to the following draw’s jackpot, causing it to grow. Multiple rollovers in a row can push the jackpot to very high amounts, up to the €250 million cap.

Overall odds: the key takeaway

The headline figure for EuroMillions is the jackpot odds of 1 in 139,838,160. But the more meaningful number for most players is that the overall odds of winning any prize are approximately 1 in 13. With 13 prize tiers, a good number of tickets picked up in any given draw will return at least a small prize. The lower tiers, particularly the 13th (1 in 22) and 12th (1 in 50), are won frequently by casual players.

Whether you are checking the latest results, considering your first entry, or thinking about joining a syndicate, understanding the full odds picture helps you make informed decisions about how you play.