Lottery jackpots

What is a jackpot and how they work?

In games and lotteries, the word “jackpot” refers to an amount of money accumulated from prizes not awarded in previous draws.

All modern lotteries have adapted their regulations to attract players and increase participation, this way, making the temptation to play irresistible.

A jackpot starts when there is no winner of any of the categories in a lottery draw. Each game has its own way of determining the amount of  possible jackpots for each draw, how the money is distributed, which part goes to each prize category, if there is a guaranteed minimum, or if there is a maximum number of times that the prize can rollover.

Minimum and maximum guaranteed lottery jackpots

Upon reviewing the lotteries that accumulate larger jackpots, we may see that some have a minimum amount guaranteed for the first prize to which the corresponding amount  on the collection for the draw is added. Each organising entity decides on the minimum depending on the estimated revenue. American lotteries tend to start with the largest jackpots.

* During the COVID 19 pandemic, the minimum guaranteed prize was reduced to $20M. 

** Not guaranteed, minimum amount is estimated.

How lottery jackpots accumulate

Independently of the fact that every lottery in question has a guaranteed minimum for the main prize, the collection percentages determined by each regulation for the remaining categories are also part of those millionaire prizes.

However, there are lotteries such as PowerBall, MegaMillions and others which have fixed amounts for the second place and subsequent prize categories.

Distribution on lottery jackpot collection

In general, when there is already a pre-existing jackpot from previous raffles, the collection percentage for the next one is added to the existing jackpot.

There are lotteries that allocate a high percentage of each draw collection to increase the pot, and others prefer to distribute it among the various categories provided.

Let’s see how the lotteries that have the highest jackpots accumulate:

Biggest jackpots won to date

The largest jackpots correspond to the American lotteries (PowerBall and MegaMillions), but the  European jackpot lotteries (Euromillions, Eurojackpot, SuperEnalotto, La Primitiva and several countries’ national lotteries) are  equally quite large.

The largest American lottery jackpots.

• Here we leave a list of the biggest American lottery jackpots in history :

• • • • $1,586 million. The largest jackpot to date. Corresponding to the PowerBall lottery in the  1/13/2016 draw.
      • $758 million. The highest pot for a single winner. This was  also distributed by the PowerBall lottery in the  8/23/2017 draw.
      • $656 million. On 30/3/2012 through the MegaMillions lottery.

The biggest prizes in European lotteries

Unlike American lotteries, European lottery prizes in EuroMillions, Eurojackpot and others, are generally not subject to taxes, excluding certain countries such as Spain, Portugal or Italy.

The biggest jackpots to date have been the following:

The current record for the largest EuroMillions jackpot won is €220 million. The jackpot was won by a ticket holder in France on Friday, October 15, 2021.T

he current record for the largest EuroMillions jackpot won is €220 million. The jackpot was won by a ticket holder in France on Friday, October 15, 2021.

• • The current record for the largest EuroMillions jackpot won is €220 million. The jackpot was won by a ticket holder in France on Friday, October 15, 2021.
  • 190 million. This  is the maximum amount of pot provided for the EuroMillions lottery, and has been awarded four times to date. On 10/8/2012 in the UK, on 24/10/2014 in Portugal, on 6/10/2017 in Spain, and finally, on 8/10/2019 to a single winner in the UK who remains anonymous.

• • £161 million (€185 million) jackpot on 12/7/2011 in the UK, in the EuroMillions lottery.

• • €177.7 million jackpot on 10/30/2010 in the SuperEnalotto lottery.

• • €163.5 Million prize on 10/27/2016 to a single winner in the SuperEnalotto.

The Eurojackpot lottery has delivered jackpot provided within its regulations five times for 90 million euros:

• 5/15/2015 in the Czech Republic.
• 10/14/2016 in Germany.
• 6/1/2017 also in Germany.
• 9/2/2018 this time in Finland.
• 6/7/2018 in Germany again.

As for other lotteries, these are the highest jackpots to date:

• €7,219,705  BonoLoto’s highest jackpot to date in 1990.
• €33 million delivered in 2011 in La Primitiva.
• £66,070,646 on 9/1/2016 in the UK lottery. Later it was limited to £22 millions
• zł 56 million (Almost 13 million euros) in September 2011 in the Polish Lotto.

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