All About the Best European Lotteries

So far, Europe has three transnational lottery draws:

EuroMillions

Europe’s biggest lottery to date was established in February 2004 by France’s Française des Jeux, Spain’s Loterías y Apuestas del Estado and the United Kingdom’s Camelot.

From 2012, EuroMillions has had a jackpot that resets to €17 million after it’s won. This amount will grow with each rollover until it reaches the jackpot cap, which is now €250 million. 

Currently, EuroMillions tickets are sold in 9 European countries, including Austria, Belgium, France, Ireland, Luxembourg, Portugal, Spain, Switzerland, and the United Kingdom. Draws are held every Tuesday and Friday at 20:45 CET in Paris.

EuroJackpot

With 18 participating countries under its belt, EuroJackpot is the biggest lottery draw offered in Europe. Launched in 2012, this European gem is often regarded as EuroMillions little brother due to the smaller jackpots and prizes. But don’t let that keep you from playing! EuroJackpot is still considered one of Europe’s most exciting lotteries, offering a multi-million euro jackpot and 11 additional prizes that rival those of EuroMillions.

The jackpot prize starts at €10 million, and if not won, it can eventually reach the lottery’s €120 million cap. You can get a chance at winning EuroJackpot prizes twice a week, every Tuesday and Friday night in Helsinki, Finland, at 19:00 GMT.

EuroDreams

EuroDreams, Europe’s latest lottery sensation, kicked off its inaugural draw on November 6, 2023, unveiling two fortunate jackpot winners. What sets this lottery apart is its captivating prize structure, promising winners a life-changing jackpot prize of 20,000 euros monthly, for a remarkable 30 years! It’s not just a windfall; it’s a lasting financial embrace.

Even if your luck only aligns with two numbers, EuroDreams has prizes waiting.

EuroDreams lottery draws occur twice a week, on Mondays and Thursdays at 21:00 local time in Paris.

National lottery tickets are only available within the borders of the country offering them. While they’re usually much smaller than transnational lotteries that are offered in multiple countries, with the exception of Italy’s SuperEnalotto, these local draws maintain loyal fanbases. Spain’s La Primitiva is one of Europe’s oldest lotteries and remains a firm favourite among Spanish fans due to the jackpot cap-free policy that create enormous large multi-million euro prizes! Another beloved draw is the Polish Mini Lotto that offers daily lottery draws and some of the most affordable European lottery tickets out there.

Below are the national European draws that you can play online at Lotería Del Rey:

One thing that sets European lottery draws apart is the lottery raffles, special draws, and Superdraws that let players win a little extra!

• Lottery raffles are staged alongside the main draw and give players another chance at winning without having to match any of the numbers. Two of Europe’s biggest lottery raffles are Spain’s EuroMillions El Millon raffle which gives players a chance to win a €1 million prize at each draw, and the EuroMillions Austria ÖsterreichBonus.
• EuroMillions Superdraws are lottery events that take place several times a year and are anticipated by EuroMillions fans across the globe! The draw’s regular jackpot prize is boosted to €130 million and can grow to reach the lottery’s cap within just a few draws! Most of Europe’s biggest jackpots come from a EuroMillions Superdraw series, including a record-breaking €240 million top prize won in December 2023.
• Special draws are usually held in time for major holidays, such as Christmas, New Year, Easter, and Valentine’s Day as well as some local holidays like Independence Day. These usually offer boosted jackpots, raffles, or additional draws.
• Italy stages the much anticipated Pasqua 100×100 raffle every Easter, awarding 100 lucky players a chance at winning an impressive €100,000 raffle prize when they play SuperEnalotto!
• France Loto boosts its jackpot to €13 million and adds a raffle in honour of Friday the 13th and the Romanian Loto 6/49 and Joker both routinely offer additional draws and boosted jackpots on regular weekdays and holidays! These are just a few examples of special lottery draws you can expect when playing European lotteries!

Debating on which the best European lotteries to play? One way to narrow down the list is to look at your chances of winning the lottery! As expected, smaller lotteries tend to be the ones with the best odds due to the smaller guess ranges and prizes.

In Europe, it’s Poland’s daily Mini Lotto draw that takes the cake, giving players a 1:850,668 chance of scoring the lottery’s jackpot prize! While the prizes may not seem that exciting, you’re much more likely to take home multiple Mini Lotto jackpots before even claiming a single EuroJackpot top prize.

If you want a nice ratio between good prizes and decent odds, France Loto offers a 1 in 6 chance of winning any of the draw’s 10 prizes, while the odds of winning the jackpot are 1:19,068,840. This might sound daunting, but compared to the most difficult European lottery jackpot to win, Italy’s SuperEnalotto eye-watering odds of 1:622,614,630, these sound pretty reasonable for a jackpot with a €30 million record! Another European lottery that has a great balance between odds and winnings is Austria Lotto! You have a fantastic 1 in 8,145,060 chance of claiming the jackpot prize, which regularly reaches €5 million!

If you’re the “odds be damned, I want to win the biggest European lottery jackpot” type, you’ll want to try your luck playing EuroMillions. In addition to awarding the biggest prizes in all of Europe, they’re also some of the hardest to win! For a chance at winning the jackpot prize, which can reach €250 million(!), you will have to beat the 1 in 139,838,160 odds! Are you up to the challenge?

Yes and no. Some European countries may award lottery winnings tax-free, such as Austria, Germany, France and Hungary, but most subject winnings to varying tax rates that depend on from which country your ticket was purchased. In Romania, there are three tax bands with rates that range from 1%-25%. Ukraine however, has a single tax band of 19.5%.

Income tax could also be deducted in your country of residence and highly suggest you consult with an accountant and tax specialist when you see that you’ve won a big prize. To see the rules and rates from all countries, check our lottery tax guide!