As Europe’s biggest lottery, the EuroMillions has its name linked to a number of fascinating winner stories. From small prizes of a few Euros to the big life-changing jackpots, EuroMillions winners keep coming up every time numbers are drawn.
Today, the record jackpot for the EuroMillions stands at an awesome €240 million, which brings a new jackpot cap of €250 million. The previous cap stood at €240 million, but it was increased when an Austrian player scooped this jackpot in December 2023.
The initial cap of €190 million was won four times – first in August 2012 by a British couple, Adrian and Gillian Bayford, then in October 2014 by a Portuguese ticket holder, then in October 2017 by a Spanish player, and then by a British player in October 2019.
But aside from them, there are many more winners who have made it into the EuroMillions Hall of Fame. Here are the fascinating stories of the biggest EuroMillions winners to date:
ANONYMOUS WINNER
Austria
€240 MILLION
DECEMBER 8TH, 2023
A new record jackpot was won in the EuroMillions lottery! A ticket from Austria claimed €240 million on December 8th, 2023. This was thanks to a rule change of the European lottery: the jackpot cap has gradually risen since February 2020.
This was the outcome of a SuperDraw that began with a €200 million jackpot. The winner, who remained anonymous, picked the winning numbers: 17-30-42-48-50 with the Lucky Starts 04 and 08.
ANONYMOUS WINNER
UK
€230 MILLION
JULY 19TH, 2022
The EuroMillions lottery has brought us a new record jackpot! on July 19th, 2022, a winning ticket from UK brought €230 million to its owner. This was made possible thanks to a change of rules of the European lottery: since February 2020, the jackpot cap has slowly increased.
This was a results of a SuperDraw that started on June 17, 2022 with a starting jackpot of €130 million. The anonymous winner had chosen the winning numbers: 06-23-27-40-43/02&12.
ANONYMOUS WINNER
France
€220 MILLION
OCTOBER 15TH, 2021
France is certainly the luckiest EuroMillions country! It was proven once again in the draw of October 15th, 2021, when a French ticket holder matched the winning numbers and scooped the record-breaking jackpot of €220 million. This mouth-watering prize was the result of a EuroMillions SuperDraw held in the draw of September 24th, 2021, which did not make any winner and was followed by a series of rollovers.
Two weeks after the draw took place, a woman living in Tahiti, French Polynesia came forward and claimed the prize. The lucky young woman hit the jackpot from her first attempt at playing the lottery, with a Quick Pick ticket. She said she had always known she will win once she decides to play. She plans on spending the money for travels, charitable causes and building her own business.
JOE & JESS THWAITE
UK
€215.8 MILLION
MAY 10TH, 2021
A lovely couple from UK scooped this amazing prize which is also the largest lottery prize ever scooped in UK! Joe & Jess Thwaite claimed the 215.8 Million EuroMillions prize only a few days after winning. At first they didn’t believe their luck and mentioned they needed it as bills got higher, and their home needed some renovations.
They decided to start playing some 7 years ago after Jess father’s passed away. He loved playing lottery and always dreamt of winning. Joe & Jess were since playing when the jackpot would get really high and they would choose random numbers with the Quick Pick option. Until now, Joe said that he hadn’t been lucky. Their luck certainly did change though!
ANONYMOUS WINNER
Switzerland
€210 MILLION
FEBRUARY 26TH, 2021
A new record for the time of the draw, the €210 million jackpot was won in the draw of February 26th, 2021 by a ticket holder from Switzerland. The EuroMillions top prize got to such heights after a EuroMillions Superdraw event held on February 5th that offered a guaranteed €130 million jackpot. As there was no winning ticket, draw after draw, the EuroMillions jackpot continued to grow until it reached the €210 million cap. After two more rollovers at this fixed amount, the winning numbers were matched by the lucky Swiss player. This was the 23rd EuroMillions jackpot to go to Switzerland.
ANONYMOUS WINNER
France
€200 MILLION
DECEMBER 11TH, 2020
This lucky winner comes from France. A very lucky French ticket owner matched the winning number of the draw on December 11th, 2020 and took home a mouth-watering €200 million prize. The jackpot reached this height after a €130 million Superdraw that took place on November 20th rolled over for the six subsequent draws .
This was the 110th time that the EuroMillions jackpot went to France. At the moment of the win, France was one of the luckiest EuroMillions countries, at draw with the UK. Both countries were home to 110 jackpot winners each. The French and the Brits are actually the luckiest EuroMillions players as they scooped most EuroMillions prizes along the years.
This retiree from the south of France was an occasional player who generally filled his grid by mixing lucky numbers and other numbers chosen randomly. When he won, he said he wanted to use this jackpot to “protect the living”. He kept his word: in May 2021 he founded the Anyama Foundation (named after a city in the Ivory Coast where this lucky winner grew up. He said:
“In December 2020, I was lucky enough to win the lottery. I only played when jackpots were quite large, with one idea in mind: to devote most of the sum I would win to create a foundation. My dream has never been to acquire boats, castles or other sports cars. My dream was to be useful and to give meaning to this money, with maximum positive impact. So that’s what I’m doing today by creating Anyama, which acts for the benefit of the common good of all, with one watchword: to protect the living. This is for me the urgency of our time and most certainly of the many years to come, in the interest of future generations.”
ANONYMOUS WINNER
UK
€193 MILLION
SEPTEMBER 23RD, 2022
2022 has been a great year for EuroMillions players. For instance, on September 23, 2022 a player from UK won no less than €193 million. It reached that amount after a few rollovers that started on Septeember 3, 2022 with a starting jackpot of €130 million.
The lucky winner came to pick up his win a week after the draw took place.
ANONYMOUS WINNER
UK
€190 MILLION
OCTOBER 8TH, 2019
The last €190 million cap-jackpot-winner comes from the UK. On October 8th, 2019, a very lucky Brit won the largest lottery prize in the history of the UK. Its worth in pounds was £170 million, which broke the record previously held by the Bayford’s. This made the anonymous player the UK’s largest lottery winner to date. This was the fourth time that the EuroMillions jackpot reached the €190 million cap and the lucky Brit scooped the prize on the Must-Be-Won draw. If he hadn’t matched the winning numbers, the prize would have gone to the second prize winners that evening. Lucky break indeed!
ADRIAN & GILLIAN BAYFORD
UK
€190 MILLION
AUGUST 10TH, 2012
Gillian and Adrian Bayford remain the most famous EuroMillions winners to date, after scooping up a €190 million (£148 million) jackpot back in 2012. Prior to the windfall, Gillian was working nights in a hospital and Adrian was taking care of his second-hand record shop to make ends meet. Did the jackpot change their life? For sure!
They started enjoying their new-found wealth almost instantly by splashing out on eccentric cars, helicopter flights and luxury mansions. However, the couple, who have two children together, divorced only 15 months after scooping the jackpot after 9 years of marriage.
ANONYMOUS WINNER
PORTUGAL
€190 MILLION
OCTOBER 24TH, 2014
This lucky EuroMillions winner decided not to reveal his identity when claiming his prize. All we know is that the ticket was bought in the district of Castelo Branco at the Sobedis store in the Alegro shopping center. The winning numbers of the EuroMillions draw held on Friday, October 24th, 2014 were 3, 9, 20, 30, and 42, and Lucky Stars 1 and 6. The Portuguese player beat the EuroMillions odds of winning and took home the bigger prize in the game.
ANONYMOUS WINNER
SPAIN
€190 MILLION
SEPTEMBER 15TH, 2017
The EuroMillions SuperDraw of September 15th, 2017 was followed by a long rollover streak. The results? The jackpot cap and record was reached once again! The EuroMillions lottery displayed the top €190 million prize not once, but twice, and on October 6th, the jackpot was finally won. The ticket matching the winning numbers was purchased on the Spanish holiday island of Gran Canaria. The winning numbers of the draw on Friday, October 6th were 1, 9, 15, 19, and 25, with Lucky Stars 1 and 7.
ANONYMOUS WINNERS
IRELAND & BELGIUM
€187 MILLION
JUNE 25TH, 2013
This enormous jackpot was shared between two EuroMillions winners from Ireland and Belgium. On June 25th, 2013, the jackpot got to a whopping €187 million after a series of rollovers following the Superdraw on June 7th, which brought a jackpot worth €100 million. Both the Irish and the Belgian winner who managed to beat the incredible odds chose to remain anonymous.
CHRIS & COLIN WEIR
UK
€185 MILLION
JULY 12TH, 2011
Back in 2011, the winning numbers 17, 19, 38, 42, 45 and Lucky Stars 9 & 10 brought Chris and Colin Weir a life-changing EuroMillions jackpot of €185 million (£161 million), placing them on the same level of wealth with super-couple David and Victoria Beckham.
At the time, this was the largest EuroMillions prize ever won in the game’s history. The Weirs’s name remains an important one for the European lottery, not only as one of the biggest EuroMillions wins, but because of the charitable initiatives. Immediately after their windfall, they donated a £180,000 home to their neighbors. The following year, the mega rich Scots helped 13-year-old Kieran Maxwell, who lost his leg due to a rare and aggressive cancer called Ewings Sarcoma, buy a more advanced prosthetic limb. These are just some of the good deeds in the lucky EuroMillions winners’ portfolio.
Unfortunately for the Weirs, the jackpot win did not bring only joy and glory. After 36 years of marriage, Chris and Colin Weir got divorced 8 years after scooping the jackpot.
ANONYMOUS WINNERS
FRANCE & PORTUGAL
€183 MILLION
FEBRUARY 3RD, 2006
The €183 million jackpot of February 3rd, 2006, was split by three winners – two from France and one from Portugal. Each of the three winners got an even share of the prize totaling €61 million. The EuroMillions jackpot got to this enormous amount after 11 successive rollovers causing a lotto frenzy in all the participating countries. All three winners decided to remain anonymous.
ANONYMOUS WINNERS
UK, FRANCE, IRELAND, BELGIUM, SPAIN & PORTUGAL
€183 MILLION
NOVEMBER 17TH, 2006
After the big hype about the €183 million jackpot from February 3rd, 2006, the first prize climbed to the same amount once again on November 17th, 2006. According to the EuroMillions rules at the time, the jackpot could only rollover 12 times (the rollover cap was then changed to the jackpot cap of €190 million) and the draw of November 17th was the 12th.
There was no jackpot winner that evening, which meant that the entire fund for the first prize was transferred to the second prize. There were 20 tickets with the winning numbers for the EuroMillions second prize. Each of them got an even share of the prize worth €9.6 million. There were 7 winners from the UK, 4 from France, 3 from Spain, 3 from Portugal, 2 from Ireland, and 1 from Belgium. The only one who wanted to go public was Dean Hardman from Manchester.
ANONYMOUS WINNERS
UK & SPAIN
€177 MILLION
FEBRUARY 23RD, 2018
On February 23rd, 2018, two lucky players from Spain and the UK got all the winning numbers for a huge EuroMillions jackpot worth €177 million. They each got half of the big jackpot worth €88 million and they decided to remain anonymous.
It was revealed, however, that the ticket from Spain belonged to an 80-member syndicate from San Luis de Sabinillas and Manilva. The Spanish syndicate played several tickets that draw and it seems that they also had the winning numbers for the second prize (worth €485,787) on two other tickets, which earned them almost a million extra.
Do you dream of replicating their success? Find out how to join an EuroMillions syndicate online to win great prizes together with other fans of the European lottery.
ANONYMOUS WINNERS
IRELAND
€175 MILLION
FEBRUARY 19TH, 2019
On February 19th, 2019, a family syndicate from Naul, Dublin scooped an amazing €175 million in the EuroMillions. The jackpot reached this enormous amount after the €120 million Superdraw jackpot of February 1st rolled over draw after draw.
One of the syndicate members heard on the news that the EuroMillions jackpot was won in Ireland. She also heard three of the jackpot numbers, which sounded somewhat familiar. She then checked the results online and she realized that they had all the five main numbers and both the Lucky Stars.
While they were absolutely thrilled about their win, they decided not to go public. They wanted their lives to stay as normal as possible, even after their huge win. They intend to share their EuroMillions fortune with the extended family and enjoy it together.
ANONYMOUS WINNER
FRANCE
€169 MILLION
NOVEMBER 13TH, 2012
A lucky ticket-holder from France matched the winning numbers of the November 13th, 2012 draw – 11, 16, 21, 24, 29 and Lucky Stars 2 & 6. The winner, who preferred to remain anonymous, was described by the FDJ representative as a self-made man who come from a modest family and had not had the chance to receive a formal education. When claiming his prize, he talked about creating a charitable foundation to help people in need.
In an interview he gave to Nice Matin a year after having scooped his win, the lucky winner confirmed he made some charitable donations, and also spent some money on traveling to discover the world, as well as on a few art investments.
ANONYMOUS WINNER
BELGIUM
€168 MILLION
OCTOBER 11TH, 2016
A EuroMillions fan from Belgium won the incredible €168 million jackpot on October 11th, 2016. With a single ticket, on which he spent no more than €15, he made the right choice when choosing the numbers 5, 12, 20, 24, 37, and the two Lucky Stars 4 and 11. He did not reveal too many details about himself, but we know he is father of 4 and originally from Albania, a country he fled to escape the war in Kosovo. When claiming the prize, he spoke about sharing a part of his win with people in need. Thanks to his winning ticket, Belgium not only claimed a new record as the biggest national jackpot ever, but jumped to the 5th position EuroMillions biggest jackpots shortlist!
ANONYMOUS WINNER
PORTUGAL
€163 MILLION
OCTOBER 13TH, 2015
A SuperDraw and 10 rollovers pumped up the EuroMillions jackpot to €163 million, right before the lottery’s draw on October 13th, 2015. This time the top prize was scooped by a lucky Portuguese fan who took advantage of the national lottery’s rules and chose to remain anonymous. The numbers that made his fortune: 4. 30, 34, 46, 49, and Lucky Stars 7 & 8.
ANONYMOUS WINNER
FRANCE
€162 MILLION
SEPTEMBER 13TH, 2011
Another French winner, this time from Calvados, hit the EuroMillions jackpot on September 13th, 2011. Who said 13 isn’t a lucky number? Together with the draw’s results (9, 28, 30, 32, 49, and Lucky Stars 9 & 10), the date of 13 brought the lucky EuroMillions fan an awesome fortune of €162 million. Upon claiming his prize, the French EuroMillions winner said that his “priority is the completion of a real estate project” and that he is also considering investing in the French economy.