Publicity

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When a EuroMillions player is lucky enough to win the jackpot or a very large prize, they have several tough decisions to make, the biggest of which is whether to go public or remain anonymous. While many winners decide to claim their prizes quietly, there are those who decide to reveal their identities and speak publicly about their win; according to Andy Carter, the Senior Winners’ Advisor at The National Lottery, this figure is as low as 15 percent.

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"Regardless of whether they tick the "no publicity" box or choose the press conference and champagne reception, all UK winners are promised support, including financial and legal advice, from the National Lottery."

Here is a breakdown of the 12 biggest UK EuroMillions winners to date and how they chose to acknowledge their huge changes in fortunes:

* While Chris and Colin Weir hold the title for the largest EuroMillions prize won in sterling, the Euro value of the win (€185,000,000) was less than the Euro amount won by the Bayfords (€190 million). This is due to fluctuating exchange rates.

Out of the 12 biggest winners, six opted to remain anonymous, while six chose publicity. The largest anonymous claim was made in October 2010 for a jackpot of £113 million, while the largest public claim was the one made by Chris and Colin Weir in July 2011. While this might be in stark contrast to the 15-percent figure quoted above, there is a reasonable explanation as to why 60 percent of the ticket holders came forward.

An eight or nine-figure prize can be hard to hide from family, friends and the public; most winners who reveal their identities do so because they believe that they can’t conceal that sort of money and the changes it would bring. A prize of £50,000 or £100,000 can easily fly under the radar, but bagging £100 million is nearly impossible to keep quiet.

Publicity or anonymity will be one of the most difficult decisions a big EuroMillions winner makes, and their personal circumstances will often dictate which path they choose. Still, at the end of the day, they all have something to be proud of – beating the odds and putting themselves down in the history books as huge lottery winners!

Winners from Abroad

One advantage EuroMillions has over U.S. lotteries such as Powerball and Mega Millions is that players in all nine participating countries can remain anonymous when claiming a prize. Much like in the UK, the majority of continental winners choose to remain nameless, with only their home town being made public, while players in Belgium have been known to release small snippets of information about their lives.

Of course, winners in Europe can still opt to waive their right to anonymity and embrace the media spotlight. One of the most famous examples of this came in July 2005 when Dolores McNamara claimed a prize worth €115.4 million. The mother of six from Limerick still remains Ireland’s biggest ever jackpot winner.

Here are the biggest non-UK jackpot winners and how each of them decided to accept their EuroMillions reward: