European Lottery Guide - Which Should You Play Next?

 For centuries, European lotteries have offered some of the world’s biggest jackpot prizes and exciting special draws! Learn about the continent's three biggest lottery games, EuroMillions, EuroJackpot, and Italy’s SuperEnalotto, so that you can start playing for Europe's most exciting prizes online at Lotto Simple.

Back to Basics 

Before we get into the nitty-gritty of Europe’s biggest lotteries, below are the basics that you need to know in order to participate in draws and win prizes!

Which European Lottery Has the Biggest Starting Jackpots?

A starting jackpot is an amount that the first division prize resets to after it was won. At €17 million, the EuroMillions beats out all other European lotteries. Close behind is the pan-European EuroJackpot which offers a €10 million starting jackpot prize. These two draws are Europe’s biggest and are both offered in several European countries.

While Italian SuperEnalotto may be Europe’s biggest national lottery, its minimum guaranteed jackpot is €2 million. This amount is common for European lotteries, which usually offer initial jackpots of €2 million - €3 million.

What Are Your Odds Of Winning the Jackpot?

Your chances of winning depends on two things: How many numbers you need to guess, and the range of numbers you have to choose from. Needless to say, the more numbers you need to correctly match, the harder it is to win. The upside of lotteries with challenging odds is that they usually result in many jackpot rollovers, which create enormous prizes by the time they're won!

So, which European lottery has the best odds? EuroJackpot offers a 1 in 95,344,200 chance of winning the jackpot and a 1 in 26 probability of walking away with any one of the draw’s 12 prize categories. Compared to other lotteries with comparable prizes, this is definitely not too shabby! In second place comes EuroMillions at 1 in 139,838,160 and overall odds of 1 in 13. While the odds of claiming the jackpot may be less in your favour, it can get around two times bigger than EuroJackpot’s top prize.

The Italian SuperEnalotto offers the least favourable odds of the bunch, at 1:622,614,630. Why is it so hard to win SuperEnalotto? Players need to choose 6 numbers from a guess range of 90. Still, this lottery remains a firm favourite of Italian and worldwide lottery fans for its special features, like the bonus Jolly number, and the Superstar, and record-breaking prizes that give even huge lotteries like EuroMillions a run for their money!

Which European Lotteries Have Awarded the Biggest Jackpots?

In addition to offering the largest starting jackpot, EuroMillions also awards Europe’s biggest prizes! In 2021, EuroMillions broke two European lottery records: A €210 million jackpot  was won by a single ticket purchased in Liechtenstein on 26 February and later that year on 15 October, a €220 million jackpot was matched by a lucky ticket holder from French Polynesia after a boosted EuroMillions Superdraw jackpot rolled over and reached the cap! This is the biggest European lottery prize ever awarded to date.

In August 2019, Italy’s biggest lottery, SuperEnalotto, awarded a €209 million jackpot prize to a single winner from Lombardy, Italy. At the time, it was the largest prize ever awarded in Europe, and remained so for a full year and a half!

Jackpot Caps: What Are They and Which European Lotteries Have Them?

When a jackpot has a cap, it means that there’s a maximum amount that the top prize can reach before it must be won. A lottery without a cap has no limit to how big the prize can become and will continue to grow with each rollover until it’s won.
In the case of Europe’s biggest lotteries, the Italian SuperEnalotto is the only one that has no cap on on how big its jackpot prize can get.

EuroMillions currently has a cap of €220 million. The EuroMillions jackpot limit, which was set at €190 million since the lottery’s launch in 2004, was raised to €200 million starting February 2020. Under its new format, once the €200 million cap was reached for the first time, the jackpot in the next EuroMillions jackpot cycle can rollover as high as €210 million. Once that is reached, the jackpot cap will be raised to €220 million, and then €230 million. The EuroMillions jackpot will continue to grow in this manner until it reaches its maximum jackpot cap of €250 million.

Until 2013, EuroJackpot had a “rollover limit” format. This meant that after 12 rollovers with no jackpot winners, a must-be-won draw would be held on the 13th draw. If the top prize was still not matched, all of the prize winnings would be paid out to the next highest prize tier.
Currently, the EuroJackpot top prize can grow to reach €90 million.

Do European Lotteries Offer Special Draws?

European lotteries have a long-standing tradition of offering boosted prizes in Superdraws and holiday raffles. One of Europe’s biggest special draws is the EuroMillions Superdraw, which boosts the jackpot prize to an exciting €130 million! This anticipated special draw takes place several times a year, and players only know the draw date when it is announced several weeks before the draw. 

Are European Lottery Prizes Taxed?

Yes and no. Taxation on prize winnings depends on which European country you’re purchasing tickets from. 
If you win a prize while betting on lotteries at Lotto Simple, you will receive the equivalent of the official lottery prize after tax has been deducted. Therefore, we think it is important that you know how European lotteries are taxed. You may be subject to local taxation in your country of residence, so be sure to check your local tax laws when you win any big prize. Check out our Prize Deduction Guide to learn more.

Austria - EuroMillions: Tax-free on all winnings.

Spain - EuroJackpot: Partially tax-free.

• Tax Band 1:Tax-free up to €40,000.

• Tax Band 2: Any portion of the prize exceeding €40,000 is subject to a tax rate of 20%. Spain offers full tax refunds to citizens from most countries to prevent double taxation.

Italy - SuperEnalotto: Italian lottery winnings are subject to 7 tax bands

• Tax Band 1: Tax-free up to €100.

• Tax Band 2: The portion of the prize between €100.01 and €300 is subject to a local retailer fee of €1.03.

• Tax Band 3: The portion of the prize between €300.01 and €500 is subject to a local retailer fee of €3.10.

• Tax Band 4: The portion of the prize between €500.01 and €1,000 is subject to a local retailer fee of €3.10 and a tax rate of 20%.

• Tax Band 5: Any portion of the prize between €1,000.01 and €5,200.00 is subject to a local retailer fee of €6.20 and a tax rate of 20%.

• Tax Band 6: Any portion of the prize between €5,200.01 and €52,000.00 is subject to a local retailer fee of €5.16 and a tax rate of 20%.

• Tax Band 7: Any portion of the prize exceeding €52,000.01 is subject to a tax rate of 20%. This only applies to the portion of the prize exceeding €500.

Can I Win European Lottery Prizes Online?

At Lotto Simple, players can bet on the official lottery results and win prizes from the world's biggest lotteries, like Austria EuroMillions, EuroJackpot, and Italy’s SuperEnalotto, without actually needing to travel to Europe to purchase lottery tickets. The process of placing a bet is safe and secure and payment of winnings is guaranteed.

Simply fill out your online entry as you would a regular lottery ticket, and wait to see if you’ve won!

If you match a prize, you will receive an email notifying you with the details of your win shortly after the official results are announced. Your winnings will be directly transferred to your online Lotto Simple account 100% commission-free. Learn more about how it works.

Lotto Simple replicates the prize tier structure of official lotteries. When you place a bet and the numbers you chose match a prize, your winnings will be equivalent to that of the corresponding prize category of the official lottery draw. 

Play Europe’s Biggest Lotteries at Lotto Simple!

You don’t have to travel to play Europe’s leading lotteries and other exciting worldwide draws! At Lotto Simple, you can win guaranteed prizes equivalent to those advertised by official lottery operators from across the globe. Just sign up, place your bet, and you’re on your way to winning some incredible prizes and jackpots!