A significant year for EuroMillions has seen a few important changes and huge prize winners, as players across the continent participated in some of the largest jackpots in EuroMillions history, took part in the inaugural edition of European Millionaire Maker and players from the United Kingdom even had to consider the potential impact of Brexit!
2016 began with a multitude of roll-overs which took the jackpot prize up to €132.3 million, before it was split between a ticket bought in Ireland and another from France on Friday, 29th January. A group of Irish friends came forward to claim their €66.1 million slice, admitting they were ‘awestruck’ by their tremendous luck.
The largest prize pool of the year was awarded on Tuesday 11th October, when a ticket holder from Brussels scooped up €168 million to become Belgium’s biggest ever winner. The fortunate player, a father of 4 who worked in waste management, had claimed the grand prize and declared that he will be sharing his winnings with ‘people in need’. He told Belgian National Lottery officials that he enjoyed cooking with fish, watching Robert De Niro movies and football.
2016 Brought about Big Changes.
The player from Belgium who now boasts the title of multimillionaire was the first participant to win the jackpot after several EuroMillions changes that went into effect on Saturday, 24th September. The changes were announced during summer and promised to create even bigger jackpots, with the number of Lucky Stars increasing from 11 to 12 and several other awesome new features introduced.
in the United Kingdom, two UK Millionaire Maker winners were guaranteed in every draw rather than the previous one, while Mega Week was launched to replace Mega Friday and give players the chance to win special prizes on a Tuesday as well as a Friday at the end of every month. The first Meg a Week promotion sent ten lucky winners on a luxury 100-day holiday round the world on Tuesday 27th September, before a Superdraw raised the EuroMillions jackpot to €130 million for Friday’s draw.
The Mega Week that followed in October included the first ever European Millionaire Maker, with 25 millionaires created across the continent. French ticket holders came out on top in this special draw, claiming eight of the €1million prizes.
2016 – A Year for Syndicate Wins
It is estimated that one in five wins come through Syndicate plays, and participating in a group play paid off well for many players in 2016. A family from Monmouthshire in Wales combined their fortunes to win €61.1 million on 29th July.
Another syndicate to hit the jackpot was a circle of bus drivers from Dublin, who scooped up an amazing top prize of €23.8 million on Friday 1st July. The 22 members of the group arrived by bus to claim their winnings, before going back to work.
EuroMillions Shares Some Big News
One very important event this year came when the United Kingdom voted to leave the European Union, and it left several EuroMillions fans unsure about the future and the event how it might affect their participation in the gane. Participants can now rest assured that Brexit will not lead to the United Kingdom leaving EuroMillions. There have been some small differences due to the fluctuating exchange rate between the Euro and the pound. This has left a positive effect for UK players as jackpots are now worth more.
EuroMIllions in 2017
Players from the United Kingdom have maintained a strong presence last year and currently sit 3rd in the table of the most successful participating countries, behind Spain and France, going into 2017.
2017 promises more, special draws, big winners and huge jackpots for the taking over the next 12 months, and tickets will be available at EuroLotto. at only €3.
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