How The EuroMillions Jackpot Cap Works
EuroMillions offers huge jackpots every Tuesday and Friday evening, growing every time it rolls over until there is a winner. There is a limit to how high it can go, though, and from time to time it hits its maximum amount and new rules have to be applied.
What is the Jackpot Cap?
The maximum EuroMillions jackpot is €190 million. Once it reaches this level, the top prize is locked in place and no additional funds can be added to it. This means that the jackpot can never get any bigger than €190 million; this is the largest amount that has ever been won in the history of the game.
Where Do The Extra Funds Go?
The jackpot normally receives a fixed percentage of the prize fund (43.2 percent for the first six draws in a rollover series, followed by 27 percent). However, when the €190 million cap is reached, these funds are instead allocated to the highest tier below the jackpot in which there are winners. This is most likely to be the Match 5 + 1 Lucky Star category, and if there are no winners here the money will go to the Match 5 tier.
How Long Can The Jackpot Stay At €190 Million?
The jackpot can only stay at €190 million for four draws at the most, before it has to be won in the fifth draw when it is at the cap. If there are no players who match all five main numbers plus both Lucky Stars in this draw when it must be won, the money is split between all the winners in the next category down.
It is therefore possible to win a share of the maximum jackpot without even matching the full winning line.
What’s The Benefit of the Jackpot Cap?
The jackpot cap helps to create bigger prizes in lower categories. As no more money can go to the jackpot above €190 million, the prize fund for matching five main numbers and one Lucky Star is likely to be around €10 million more than normal. Players in this category are likely to receive multimillion-euro payouts.
The jackpot cap also offers the opportunity to play for the largest possible prize on EuroMillions, following in the footsteps of winners from previous years who share the record for landing the game’s biggest prize.
Take part in EuroMillions online now or buy tickets from any authorised retailer in Ireland or any of the other eight participating countries. It could just be that you become the next big EuroMillions winner.
26th September 2019
