The EuroMillions Jackpot Cap

The EuroMillions jackpot cap currently stands at €250 million, the largest amount possible to win in the game. Stars

EuroMillions Jackpot Cap Explained

If the maximum jackpot of €250 million is reached, the normal rollover rules no longer apply. The top prize can’t go any higher so the funds have to be diverted elsewhere.

The jackpot can only stay at its maximum value for four draws at the most. If there is still no jackpot winner in the final draw - the fifth successive draw when the jackpot is €250 million - the full amount is split between the winners in the next tier.

Draw Before Cap

The jackpot rolls over and increases by €15 million from the previous draw to reach €240 million. The cap has not yet been reached.

The total prize fund for all winners matching 5 numbers + 1 lucky star remains at a typical average of €2.1 million.

The jackpot can roll over to the next draw and can still increase.

1st Capped Draw

The jackpot rolls over again and increased by €15 million but is capped at €250 million.

This creates an excess of €5 million, which is added to the Match 5 + 1 fund for a total of €7.1 million.

The jackpot can still roll over for four more draws, but it cannot increase in value.

5th Capped Draw

The jackpot rolls over again but remains capped at €250 million.

The €15 million excess that would have been added to the jackpot is added to the Match 5 + 1 prize fund of €2.1 million, which becomes €17.1 million.

The jackpot cannot roll over again. If there are no jackpot winners, the entire amount is added to the next winning tier.

Future Jackpot Caps

EuroMillions rules have allowed for the jackpot cap to increase by €10 million over the past few years. It has gone up by €10 million after every time it has reached its limit and been won. However, the maximum jackpot allowed at the current time is €250 million, so it will remain at this value even after it has been won.

Previous Cap:

Current Cap:

Please Note: Values and amounts in the graphics are for guidance only and may not reflect actual draws.

Rolldowns and Must Be Won Draws

If the jackpot rolls over four more times after it hits the EuroMillions cap, a Must Be Won draw will take place. In Must Be Won draws, the entire jackpot kitty is guaranteed to be given away, even if no one matches all the numbers in the winning line. This is because the jackpot can roll down to the prize tier below. The steps below describe how the jackpot is awarded in Must Be Won draws:

The jackpot will still be won by any players that match five numbers and two Lucky Stars. If there's more than one winner, the jackpot will be shared equally between them.
If no one matches all the numbers, the jackpot will be shared equally between all the winners in the 'Match 5+1' prize tier, if there are any.
If there are no winners in the 'Match 5+2' and 'Match 5+1' tiers, the jackpot will be shared by winners in the 'Match 5' prize tier, if there are any.
By this point winners are likely to have been found but if not the jackpot will continue to 'roll down' the prize tiers until it lands in a tier with winners.
The jackpot will reset to its starting value of €17 million (around £15 million) for the following draw.

To date, only three Must Be Won draws have occurred in EuroMillions. The most recent was on 8th October 2019, after the jackpot remained at its maximum amount for five successive draws. The first ever Must Be Won draw took place on 3rd February 2006 after a run of 11 consecutive rollovers, and that was closely followed by another Must Be Won draw on 17th November 2006.

Jackpot Cap Increase

The cap has previously been allowed to increase by €10 million each time the maximum jackpot has been won or rolled down, but current rules state that it will not be permitted to go higher than €250 million. The EuroMillions countries can change the value of the jackpot cap at any time.

When Has the Jackpot Cap Been Reached?

The jackpot cap increased by €10 million each time it was hit between February 2020 and December 2023. It is now fixed at €250 million even when someone wins the maximum amount. Before changes were made to the Jackpot Cap mechanism in February 2020, the cap that had remained in place for a number of years stood at €190 million. This cap was reached four times. Prior to January 2012, the jackpot cap was set at €185 million and that cap was reached just once.

March 2025

The €250 million cap was hit for the first time on 28th March, with the jackpot jumping up from €220 million in the previous draw. A Superdraw earlier in the month had initially boosted it to €130 million.

For the second time in a row, the record jackpot was won in Austria by an online player. They had spent just €10 on four tips.

December 2023

This record jackpot was largely created by a special Superdraw on 1st December, when the top prize was bumped up to €200 million rather than the usual €130 million. After a couple of rollovers, the jackpot hit its €240 million limit.

There was a single winner in the first draw at its cap on 8th December, as an Austrian ticket holder matched all the numbers.

July 2022

After a Superdraw on 17^th June, the jackpot kept climbing until it reached its €230 million ceiling on Friday 8^th July. Nobody matched all the numbers in the first, second or third draw at the cap, but then a UK player did win the prize (worth £195 million) on Tuesday 19^th July.

If the jackpot had rolled over on Tuesday 19^th July, a Must Be Won draw would have taken place on the Friday.

October 2021

The EuroMillions jackpot hit its upper limit of €220 million for the draw on Friday 12^th October. The grand prize was initially boosted to €130 million for a Superdraw on 24^th September, however a series of rollovers after that brought it to reach its new capped amount, just eight months after it broke its previous record.

The jackpot was not won in its first draw at the cap this time around, however its second outing on 15^th October proved to be the money maker for one lucky French ticket holder. It later emerged that the winner was actually a woman from Tahiti, where tickets are sold as it is part of French Polynesia.

February 2021

The jackpot hit its €210 million cap ahead of the draw on 23^rd February. The top prize grew quickly following a Superdraw on 5^th February, going past €200 million for the first time on 19th February and then triggering the cap in the next draw.

The jackpot remained at its limit until it was won by a ticket purchased in Switzerland for the draw on Fridy 26^th February. The ticket holder was from German-speaking Switzerland and bought two tickets online at a cost of 7 Swiss francs.

December 2020

After a €130 million Superdraw on 20^th November which was not won, the EuroMillions jackpot rolled over for the subsequent five draws. After the third rollover, it reached the cap of €200 million (as it was at the time). The jackpot remained at €200 million for the following two draws, when it was finally won by a French ticket holder on 11^th December. As a result of the cap being reached, it then increased to €210 million for the next time it gets hit.

September 2019

The jackpot rolled over for 18 draws in a row to hit the €190 million cap ahead of the draw on Tuesday 24^th September. It was the most consecutive draws without a jackpot winner in EuroMillions history. The top prize for the previous draw on Friday 20^th September had fallen just short of the maximum amount, coming in at €188 million. The jackpot was not won until 8^th October, when a Must Be Won draw took place and one anonymous UK ticket holder matched all the numbers to win the entire amount.

October 2017

The €190 million cap was also reached in October 2017. The limit was first reached in the draw on Tuesday 3^rd October, but it went one more draw before being won by a player from Spain. The lucky winner remained anonymous but it was revealed that the ticket was bought in Las Palmas in Gran Canaria.

October 2014

On 24^th October 2014, the EuroMillions jackpot hit the €190 million cap for the second time. The entire amount went to an anonymous ticket holder in Portugal.

August 2012

The first time the jackpot reached the €190 million cap was on Tuesday 7^th August 2012. No one won the prize in that draw but it was won in the next one on Friday 10^th August by Adrian and Gillian Bayford from Suffolk in the UK. The sterling value of the jackpot at the time was £148.6 million.

July 2011

The previous jackpot cap of €185 million was reached for the first and only time on Friday 8^th July 2011. It then went one more draw before it was won by Colin and Chris Weir from Scotland. Their jackpot worked out at £161 million, making it the biggest lottery jackpot ever won in the UK.

November 2006

When EuroMillions first began, there was a rollover limit rather than a jackpot cap - it could roll over for a maximum of 11 draws before it had to be won. The second and last time this happened was on Friday 17th November 2006. On that occasion no one matched all the numbers, so the prize money was shared between 20 players who matched five numbers plus one Lucky Star. Each winner took home a prize of £6,750,278.40 / €9,652,340.00.

February 2006

The first time the 11-rollover limit was reached was on Friday 3rd February 2006, when three ticket holders matched all the numbers to win €61 million each. Two of the winning tickets were purchased in France and one in Portugal.

History of the Jackpot Cap

Take a look at the various changes that have been made to the Jackpot Cap over the years since EuroMillions launched:

February 2004 - EuroMillions Launches with Rollover Limit

When EuroMillions was launched in 2004, the game was initially limited to a maximum of 11 consecutive rollovers, with no cap on the jackpot prize fund. If no player successfully matched all five main numbers and two Lucky Stars to win the top prize in the 12th draw, the money would roll down to be distributed to the next prize tier with winning players.

November 2009 - Jackpot Cap Set At €185 Million

In November 2009, the rollover rules were changed and replaced with a maximum jackpot limit (known as a jackpot cap), which was set at €185 million. However, the new rules confirmed that once the jackpot reached this figure for the first time, the cap would then increase by another €5 million.

January 2012 - Cap Increased to €190 Million After Big Win

The jackpot cap of €185 million was eventually reached on 12^th July 2011 when Scottish couple Chris and Colin Weir successfully scooped the jackpot - the cap was duly increased to €190 million. On 12^th January 2012 the rules changed to permanently cap the jackpot at €190 million.

September 2016 - Rolldowns Included in Big Changes to EuroMillions

In September 2016, a number of rule changes were introduced in order to generate bigger jackpots on a more regular basis. One of these changes was to increase the number of draws in which the jackpot could remain at €190 million before rolling down and being shared between ticket holders in a lower prize tier. Originally, the prize total could reach its limit and remain active for one draw before rolling down in the second draw; however, these changes saw the limit increased to four draws.

February 2020 - Jackpot Cap Increased as Prizes are Changed

The EuroMillions prize structure was changed in February 2020 so that a larger percentage of the prize fund went to the jackpot in every draw. To help offer even more big prizes, the jackpot cap went up from €190 million to €200 million. Under the new rules, the jackpot cap would increase by €10 million every time it was won or rolled down, up to a maximum of €250 million.

Could the Jackpot Cap Change?

The UK EuroMillions game procedures contain a clause that allows it to be raised or lowered in the future, stating "Allwyn and the EuroMillions Partners can change the level of the jackpot cap at any time".