EuroMillions rules: how to play, what it costs and your odds

To play EuroMillions, pick 5 main numbers from 1 to 50 and 2 Lucky Stars from 1 to 12. You win a prize if you match at least 2 main numbers, and the jackpot needs all 5 plus both Lucky Stars. Draws are every Tuesday and Friday, and the UK broadcast shows them first at 8.45pm. As of October 2026 a line costs £2.50 in the UK and €2.50 in Ireland and France. The odds of the jackpot are 1 in 139,838,160, and the odds of winning any prize are about 1 in 13.

EuroMillions is one game played in nine countries: the UK, Ireland, France, Belgium, Luxembourg, Spain, Portugal, Austria and Switzerland. In the UK it is part of The National Lottery, run by Allwyn Entertainment Ltd. In Ireland it is run by Premier Lotteries Ireland, and in France by FDJ. All countries share the same draw and the same jackpot, so a ticket bought in Dublin and one bought in Leeds are checked against the same winning numbers.

What you need before you play

• Age: you must be 18 or over.
• A seller in your country: a retailer, or the official app or website of your national operator (The National Lottery in the UK, Ireland's National Lottery, FDJ in France).
• £2.50 or €2.50 per line (as of October 2026). The price depends on the country, see the table below.
• Your draw: Tuesday, Friday or both. Sales close before each draw. The exact cut-off depends on your retailer or app.

How to play EuroMillions, step by step

1. Choose 5 main numbers from 1 to 50. Mark them on the playslip or in the app.
2. Choose 2 Lucky Stars from 1 to 12. The Lucky Stars come from a separate pool, so a main number 7 and a Lucky Star 7 are different picks.
3. Or ask for a random selection. Random lines have exactly the same odds as chosen ones.
4. Pick your draw days: Tuesday, Friday or both. Some sellers also let you enter several weeks in advance.
5. Pay per line and keep your ticket or app receipt. It is your only proof of entry.
6. Check the results after the draw (see below). Any match from 2 main numbers upwards wins something.

That also answers the most searched question, "EuroMillions how many numbers?": you play 7 numbers per line, 5 main numbers and 2 Lucky Stars, and you need at least 2 main numbers to win.

How much does EuroMillions cost?

Some UK sites still quote "£2 per play". The official Game Procedures (edition 24a, July 2025) set the UK price at £2.50, split as shown above, and that is the figure we use.

When is the EuroMillions draw?

EuroMillions is drawn twice a week, on Tuesday and Friday. The National Lottery says you can "watch all EuroMillions draws first at 8.45pm" UK time. According to Wikipedia, the draw itself takes place in Paris at about 21:05 Paris time. Sales close earlier in the evening, and the exact time depends on where you buy.

The next draw is Oct 13, 2026, with an advertised jackpot of €37,000,000.

Your odds of winning EuroMillions

How the jackpot odds are calculated. There are C(50,5) = 2,118,760 ways to choose 5 main numbers from 50, and C(12,2) = 66 ways to choose 2 Lucky Stars from 12. Multiply them: 2,118,760 × 66 = 139,838,160.

How the 1 in 22 checks out. Matching exactly 2 of the 5 main numbers happens in C(5,2) × C(45,3) ÷ C(50,5) = 141,900 ÷ 2,118,760 ≈ 6.7% of lines. Missing both Lucky Stars happens 45 times in 66, about 68%. Together that is about 4.6%, or 1 in 22.

Buying more lines raises your chances only in proportion. Ten lines give 10 chances in 139,838,160, still about 1 in 14 million. The table below compares EuroMillions with Eurojackpot, and the odds of all lotteries page covers every game on LottaGo.

What "EuroMillions odds in bookies" means

Searches for "EuroMillions odds in bookies" usually mean bookmakers who take bets on the outcome of the draw. A bookmaker's price is a betting offer with its own terms. It is not the probability of a ball being drawn. The probability is set by the number pools: 1 in 139,838,160 for 5 + 2, however the bet is priced. A bet with a bookmaker is not a EuroMillions ticket and is not covered by the lottery operators' rules.

The €250 million cap and how the jackpot must be won

The EuroMillions jackpot starts at €17 million, according to Ireland's National Lottery rules book, and rolls over whenever nobody matches 5 + 2. It cannot grow forever:

• The jackpot is capped at €250 million.
• Once it reaches the cap, it can roll over four more times.
• If nobody wins it at the fifth draw at the cap, the jackpot rolls down to the next prize tier that has a winner.

A jackpot that has sat at €250 million for several draws is about to be paid out, either to a 5 + 2 winner or to the highest tier with winners. That does not change your odds of hitting 5 + 2. It only changes what a lower-tier win could be worth in that one draw.

Example: reading a EuroMillions ticket

Your line: 8, 15, 27, 33, 49 + Lucky Stars 3, 11 Draw: 8, 19, 27, 40, 44 + Lucky Stars 3, 7

• Main numbers matched: 8 and 27 = 2
• Lucky Stars matched: 3 = 1
• Result: 2 + 1, a winning match, better than the 2 + 0 minimum.

Now change the drawn Lucky Stars to 5 and 7. You have 2 + 0, which still wins in EuroMillions. The same 2 + 0 would not win in Eurojackpot, where the minimum is 2 + 1. People who play both games often get caught by this. Our Eurojackpot guide explains that game's rules, and the EuroMillions vs Eurojackpot comparison sets them side by side.

How to win EuroMillions (and what doesn't help)

There is no method that raises the odds of a single line. Every combination of 5 + 2 has the same 1 in 139,838,160 chance in every draw. What you can control:

• How many lines you buy. More lines mean proportionally more chances, and a proportionally bigger cost.
• How many people you might share with. Numbers above 31 are less popular because many players use birthdays. Choosing them does not improve your odds, but it may mean fewer people share a prize with you.
• Your budget. Decide on a weekly amount before you play, and stick to it.

What doesn't help: hot numbers, overdue numbers and "systems" built on past draws. The EuroMillions statistics page counts every draw since Sep 27, 2016, and the current leaders are 42, 17, 29, 44, 10, and 23. In LottaGo's walk-forward backtest over the last 150 draws, lines built from those statistics matched about as often as random lines.

Common mistakes UK and Irish players make

• Confusing the Irish Plus with the main game. The €3.50 Irish price includes the Plus option. The core EuroMillions entry is €2.50 per panel.
• Forgetting the Tuesday draw. A ticket bought on Saturday for "the next draw" usually means Tuesday, not Friday.
• Thinking a rolldown draw is easier to win. A rolldown changes payouts, not the chance of matching numbers.
• Trusting old price screenshots. Third-party sites go out of date. Use the operator's page or our odds comparison, which lists current line prices.
• Mixing up the two pools. A main number 7 does not match a Lucky Star 7.

How to check your EuroMillions ticket

1. Find the draw date on your ticket or in your app.
2. Open the latest EuroMillions results. The last draw was Oct 9, 2026: 5, 20, 24, 31, 45, 5, 10. The last two numbers are the Lucky Stars.
3. Count the main numbers and Lucky Stars you matched on each line.
4. Find your match (for example 2 + 1) in the prize breakdown on that page.
5. Claim with your operator: The National Lottery in the UK, Ireland's National Lottery or FDJ in France. Only the operator can confirm and pay a prize.

Is EuroMillions changing?

Yes, but not in 2026. A reform once reported for autumn 2026 has been postponed to 2027, according to decisions of the French regulator ANJ dated 2 July 2026 (as reported by tirage-gagnant.com; see also euro-millions.com/changes). The operators have not yet published the new price or prize tiers. Until the reform starts, the current rules apply: 5 numbers from 1–50 plus 2 Lucky Stars from 1–12, at €2.50 a line in France. Everything in this guide describes those rules.

Buying through LottaGo

EuroMillions is marked as on sale on LottaGo. Pressing "Buy ticket" takes you to LottaGo's official partner, which buys a real ticket and pays any prize. LottaGo does not sell tickets or pay prizes itself. It earns a commission when you buy through the partner, and that commission never affects results, statistics or AI Agent lines. The partner does not accept customers from every country. Its restricted list includes the UK and France, so players there should buy from their national operator.

FAQ

How many numbers do you need to win on EuroMillions?

You need 2 main numbers to win the smallest prize. Lucky Stars are not needed at that level. Each line has 7 numbers: 5 main numbers from 1 to 50 and 2 Lucky Stars from 1 to 12. Any match from 2 + 0 upwards wins something, and the jackpot needs all 5 main numbers plus both Lucky Stars.

What are the odds of winning anything on EuroMillions?

According to the UK and Irish operators, about 1 in 13 per line. The jackpot alone is 1 in 139,838,160, calculated as C(50,5) × C(12,2) = 2,118,760 × 66. The lowest prize, 2 main numbers and no Lucky Stars, is about 1 in 22.

When is the EuroMillions draw?

Every Tuesday and Friday. In the UK it is broadcast first at 8.45pm, and according to Wikipedia the draw takes place in Paris at about 21:05 Paris time. Ticket sales close earlier in the evening.

How do you play EuroMillions in the UK?

Buy a line from The National Lottery, in a shop, in the app or on its website. Pick 5 numbers from 1 to 50 and 2 Lucky Stars from 1 to 12, or ask for random numbers. As of October 2026 a line costs £2.50, which includes £0.76 for the UK Millionaire Maker. Choose Tuesday, Friday or both.

How do I check my EuroMillions ticket?

Compare each line with the winning numbers for your draw date on the latest EuroMillions results page, counting main numbers and Lucky Stars separately. Look up your match in the prize breakdown. To confirm and claim a prize, use your operator's app, website or a retailer. LottaGo shows results only.

What happens when the EuroMillions jackpot reaches €250 million?

It can roll over four more times at the cap. If it is still not won at the fifth draw, it rolls down to the next prize tier with a winner. Your odds of matching 5 + 2 are the same as in any other draw.

Is EuroMillions the same in the UK and Ireland?

The draw, the numbers and the jackpot are the same. Prices and local add-ons differ: the UK price includes the UK Millionaire Maker, and Ireland offers a Plus option for €1 more per panel.

EuroMillions is for players aged 18 and over. Set a weekly limit and stick to it.