EuroMillions Changes
The rules have changed. Here is a quick guide to the latest changes to EuroMillions and how they will affect you.
2019 Changes
The UK has renamed the 'Millionaire Raffle' add-on game to 'UK Millionaire Maker'.
2018 Changes
Not a global change but the UK announced a new add-on game called EuroMillions HotPicks. This started with the draw on Friday 26th January 2018. Players decide how many main balls they want to match (from 1 to 5) and can win between £10 and £1 Million.
2016 Game Structure Changes
2016 saw some more adjustments to the mechanics of the game. These took effect starting with the draw on Tuesday 27th September 2016:-
- Ticket prices have increased from €2 to €2.50 (£2 to £2.50 in the UK)
- Lucky Star balls have increased from 11 to 12
- Odds of hitting the jackpot has risen from 1-in-116 million to 1-in-140 million
- Jackpot size has increased: now starting at €17M
- The launch sees a 'fantastic event' on the first Tuesday draw (extra millionaire raffle prizes etc) - plus a €130M Superdraw jackpot on Saturday 30th September
What Stays The Same?
The number of main balls will remain at 50. The prize structure also has not changed - there are still the same 13 prize tiers as before. The actual amounts paid and the odds have changed however. Partly due to the extra Lucky Star ball, partly due to the larger prize fund and partly just from some tweaking. Nothing really significant though, some prize tiers have increased a bit, others have decreased a bit.
What About Rollovers?
As a result of these changes, rollovers will happen slightly more often due to the increased odds. That will mean jackpots will tend to get bigger before being paid out.
Jackpot Cap/Roll Down Changes
The jackpot cap still remains at €190M, so the higher ticket price could lead to a reduction in the maximum length of time before a jackpot is won. Roll down draws could also be slightly more frequent as a result.
Except that there have also been some changes here too.
Currently once the jackpot cap is reached, it can only remain there for 1 draw before the roll down rule comes into play. That will now be increased to 4 draws. This should mean significant boosts in the size of the 2nd tier prizes for those weeks, as funds in excess of the €190M cap roll down to the next prize tier.
Local Changes
The UK will be adding an extra guaranteed £1M prize each draw to the add-on 'UK Millionaire Maker' game. Plus a 'UK Monthly Bonus Draw' which will pay out £1M once a month. Whilst Ireland will be adding a new raffle with 10 guaranteed prizes of €5,000 per draw. Other countries will also be adding their own country specific add-on games.
Want To Improve Those Odds?
Chose from our reviewed list of EuroMillions Syndicates and let group buying power improve your chances of winning.
EuroMillions Changes 2012 - The Roll Down Rule
Now the whole jackpot can roll down because the Jackpot Cap rules have been changed.
Click to jump straight to > When Does EuroMillions Roll Down
This change was very quietly introduced by EuroMillions on Friday 17th February 2012, but it's actually a very important change. And in our opinion significantly improves the game again over the previous change introduced in May 2011.
That change meant the jackpot could stay higher for longer, but greatly hurt the benefits of the lesser known 'roll down rule' (where the jackpot 'rolls down' to the next prize level if not won after a certain number of rollovers).
Instead the prize money that used to roll down to the next tier was being held in the frozen jackpot, and only new money that would have topped up the jackpot was being allowed to roll down.
We did criticise the roll down rule change last year so it's good to see this aspect changed back again. Perhaps someone in EuroMillions HQ is listening... or maybe players were simply getting 'jackpot blind' and ticket sales were stagnating when the jackpot was 'really big every week'?
But this EuroMillions rule change is a good one. Because now the jackpot cap is similar to the way it used to work.
When Does EuroMillions Roll Down?
Here's the low down on how rollovers work now:-
- Once the jackpot reaches €190 Million it is frozen.
- For that next draw any extra above €190 Million is rolled down.
- If the jackpot is not won that draw it will roll only once more.
- That final rollover draw the full jackpot will roll down if not won.
These rules have been in place since 17th February 2012.
Why Is This So Good..?
If we get to a draw where the full jackpot can roll down - as we have before, and we will again - there is the potential of an 'easy jackpot'.
Think of it this way: your odds of a Match 5 + 1 Lucky Star prize are 1-in-6.4 million. And that's 18 times better than getting the normal jackpot of Match 5 + 2 Lucky Stars.
So if nobody wins the jackpot on that roll down draw, you then have 18 times the normal chance of winning the jackpot! And there is no lottery in the world that offers a 1-in-6.4 million chance of €190 Million.
It is also technically possible that nobody Matches 5 + 1 Lucky Star. It's unlikely, but it could happen. In which case the jackpot rolls down further to the next level (Match 5, where odds are 36 times more likely than the jackpot).
The Downside
Before anyone gets too carried away, there are 2 things to watch out for.
Firstly of course, someone may actually win the jackpot and stop the big roll down happening. That could be you though. And if not, your Match 5 + 1 Lucky Star prize would still be worth the usual amount.
Secondly, if it does roll down, there is a greater chance of sharing the prize. Partly because more tickets are sold in big jackpot headline grabbing draws, and partly because everyone has 18 times the chance of getting a Match + 1 prize.
This second 'gotcha' is not too bad however, as even on a big selling draw such as the Olympics special there were only 16 winners at this prize level. And sharing €190 Million between 16 people still leaves nearly €12 Million each.
And wouldn't you rather see 16 very happy millionaires, rather than just 1?
Want To Play?
EuroMillions is still a tough game to win, particularly after it was made more difficult in 2011 by introducing extra Lucky Star balls.
But with those big jackpots it does make a decent game to play in a syndicate. By pooling resources to buy 50+ tickets, you can still take home a very significant win even after sharing the prize.
You can find tips on running your own syndicate here, or choose one of the best rated online EuroMillions syndicates here.
Now, if they could just put the odds back to what they were before the 2011 changes...
May 2011 Revisited - The Roll Down Rule
We discussed the recent EuroMillions changes before, which included the new Tuesday draw.
But what has escaped most people's attention is the change to the EuroMillions roll down rule.
The roll down used to happen after 12 rollovers in a row. If nobody matched all 5 main numbers and both Lucky Stars on that draw, then the entire jackpot fund was 'rolled down' until winners were found.
That meant those people who matched 5 main numbers and just 1 Lucky Star. (Although in theory it could have kept going lower if nobody won at that prize level)
This has changed!
And it's significant now, because we have just hit that point. Nobody won on Tuesday (5th July 2011), making 12 rollover draws in a row.
The New EuroMillions Jackpot Cap
Since the new Tuesday draw was introduced, there is now a jackpot prize cap of €185 Million.
Once reached, the jackpot will now stay at €185 Million until somebody wins it – by matching all 5 numbers and both Lucky Stars.
On the one hand that's a shame, as it keeps that jumbo jackpot at a level that's just as hard to win as every draw.
The previous rule guaranteed it would be paid out next draw, and if it went to the lower prize tier that meant two rather nice things. Firstly, that we had a much better chance of winning it, and secondly, that there was a greater chance the huge pot would be shared between more winners.
Not So Bad… The New EuroMillions Roll Down
On the other hand, there is still a roll down effect.
Now, all funds above the €185 Million are paid to the tier below. And that’s for every draw until the €185 Million jackpot is won.
Which will typically mean an extra €5 to €10 Million rolls down.
Now that could still be pretty exciting.
Here's why. Yesterday, 9 people got a Match 5 plus 1 star prize. It paid them €330,571 each.
If this had been a capped draw, and an extra €10 Million had rolled down – those 9 people would have received about €1,441,682 each instead. And that’s no matter what happened to the jackpot.
And as before, it can also roll down further. If nobody matches 5 plus 1, then the extra €10 Million would be shared between those matching just 5 main numbers, and so on.
What Does This All Mean To Me?
The bottom line, and what this means to you and me is this. When the cap is reached, we still have the same chance of an enormous jackpot.
But we now have a better chance of a fairly big prize too. Because it's likely we will receive over a million (depending on how many winners there are) if we match just 5 numbers and 1 star.
EuroMillions Changes May 2011 - New Tuesday Draw
EuroMillions has been pretty much the same game since it launched in 2004. But the powers that be have decided it's time for some changes.
There are three key changes, which apply from Tuesday 10th May 2011.
New EuroMillions Tuesday Draw
The biggest change is of course the addition of a new weekly draw, every Tuesday. The Friday draw will continue as normal.
This will of course result in rollover jackpots building up faster - pretty much twice as fast.
The Tuesday draw will cost the same as the Friday draw. And rollovers will carry over from Tuesday to Friday, and of course Friday to Tuesday too.
Players in the UK will get another separate EuroMillions Millionaires Raffle on Tuesday for their £2 ticket price, guaranteeing two new millionaires in the UK every week.
More Lucky Star Balls
This is probably the most controversial change.
You still pick from 1-50 main balls. But whereas you previously picked 1-9 'Lucky Star' balls, two new balls have been added so you will now pick from 1-11. This applies to both weekly EuroMillions draws.
It's a small change, but it does change the odds, making it harder to win any prize level including Lucky Star balls. For example, the jackpot goes from 1-in-76 million to 1-in-116 million.
The idea is of course to create even more rollover jackpots.
New Match 2 Prize Level
There will be a new 13th prize tier for matching 2 main balls. The previous lowest prize level required matching 2 main balls plus 1 Lucky Star.
This will pay out approximately €4 or about £2.70.
First New Tuesday Draw
The changes start from 10th May 2011 as this will be the first Tuesday draw. To promote the new draw EuroMillions have created a special jumbo jackpot of €100 Million for this first draw (around £85 Million).
This is the first major shake-up to EuroMillions in 7 years. There have been new countries joining the draw over the year, and localised changes such as the UK introducing Millionaires Raffle. It will be interesting to see how players view these EuroMillions changes, and in particular the level of take up of the new Tuesday draw.
Want To Play?
Pick from our list of rated and reviewed EuroMillions Syndicates.
The online syndicates have happily received the changes to EuroMillions. So most have already made adjustments to include the new Tuesday draw.
More Lottery Questions Answered:-
What Countries Play EuroMillions?
How Does EuroMillions HotPicks Work?
Chances Of Winning The EuroMillions?
How Does EuroMillions Millionaire Maker Work?
Where To Buy EuroMillions Lottery Tickets Online?
