A new EuroMillions rule change introduced on Friday 6 March, 2009, means that the jackpot will not be able to exceed €185,000,000. Prior to the EuroMillions rule change, jackpots could, in theory, grow to larger amounts as long as the total number of rollovers didn’t exceed twelve. In practice, the biggest EuroMillions jackpot on record was worth €183 million, so the new EuroMillions rule change will still allow us to reach those dizzy heights and actually go a tad higher.
The good news about the new EuroMillions rule change is that it potentially benefits players who win non-jackpot prizes. Should the jackpot reach the upper limit of €185 million, excess funds over and above that amount are added to the second tier prize fund. This means that players who match five numbers and just one of the two Lucky Star numbers in these circumstances will win more than they would have done otherwise.
Because the €185 million jackpot pool cap is €2 million higher then the previous record jackpot, most players won’t notice the impact of the EuroMillions rule change unless we happen to exceed that previous record. That said, being aware of the rule that effectively puts a limit on how big the EuroMillions jackpot can grow is certainly no bad thing.
Jackpot pool caps are not uncommon, especially in lottery games like EuroMillions that allow jackpots to roll over repeatedly. The EuroMillions rule change could therefore be viewed as one that brings the game into line with several other major lottery games.
Although there will undoubtedly be some critics of the EuroMillions rule change who argue that it makes it impossible for us to ever see a €200,000,000 jackpot, we think that €185,000,000 is more than enough for anyone. After all, even if you invested that sum and obtained an annual return of just 5%, you would make over €25,000 per day! If you can’t live quite happily on that kind of money, we’re doubtful that any lottery would be able to help you!
3rd March 2009