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Lotto 22 April 2025
European Lotteries
Popular European Lotteries Explained
Did you know that you can now bet on some of the biggest and best European lotteries on Lottoland? Lottoland hosts some of the most famous lotteries in the world. These include European heavyweights Eurojackpot and EuroMillions, and now you can bet on them from anywhere in South Africa, from Johannesburg to Cape Town!
With an entire continent to choose from, even the most experienced lotto player could be forgiven for being taken slightly aback. That’s why we are inviting you to go on a tour of European Lotteries with us. Hop on board as we embark on a whistlestop expedition, taking in lotteries from Germany, Italy, Scandinavia and more. First stop, France!
Table of Contents:
French Lotto
France is known around the world for producing some of the most iconic luxury brands in the world. Dior, Cartier, Givenchy and more all hail from our Gallic friends in the North – and they have a national lottery to match! Drawn twice a week, with a guaranteed minimum €2 million payout, it is easy to see why the French Lotto is so popular both at home and abroad. Bonne chance!
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| Overall Odds | 1 in 6 | ||
| Format | Choose 5 numbers from 1- 49 PLUS 1 bonus ball from 1-10 | ||
| Record Payout | € 26,000,000 (R528 million) | ||
| Bet Slip Price | R54 | ||
| Draw Time | Every Monday, Wednesday and Saturday at 20:35 CET | ||
German Lotto
Next up on our European Lottery Tour is the German Lotto. The German Lotto is perhaps most famous for being one of the most generous lotteries in the world, with payouts of over €2.8 billion every year. At over seventy years old, the German Lotto is one of the oldest on our list, but generous payouts and three extra games ensure that there is life in the old dog yet!
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| Overall Odds | 1 in 31 | ||
| Format | Chose 6 numbers from 1 to 49 | ||
| Record Payout | €42.5 million (R863 million) | ||
| Bet Slip Price | R25 | ||
| Draw Time | Wednesday 18:25 CET and Saturday 19:25 CET | ||
SuperLotto
Walk down almost any street in Europe, and you are likely to see or hear something that is influenced by Italian culture. Whether it’s the local coffee shop, church, restaurant or even the language spoken, Italy has had a huge impact on European life. In February 2023 that impact extended into the lottery record books. After 635 days without a winner, the Italian national lottery finally paid out an enormous €371.1 million – the biggest lotto payout in European history!
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| Overall Odds | 1 in 20 | ||
| Format | Choose 6 numbers from 1 to 90 | ||
| Record Payout (SuperEnalotto) | €371.1 million (R7.5 billion) | ||
| Bet Slip Price | R40 | ||
| Draw Times | Every Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday at 20:00 CET* | ||
EuroJackpot
The EuroJackpot lottery made its debut live from Helsinki in March 2012. Whilst it may be the baby of our group, this is a lottery that has grown up fast! The top payout here is a guaranteed minimum €10 million up to a maximum €120 million, meaning it is no surprise that this fresh-faced lotto is already Europe’s second most popular!
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| Overall Odds | 1 in 32 | ||
| Format | Choose 5 numbers from 1 to 50 PLUS 2 EuroNumbers from 1 to 12 | ||
| Record Payout | €120 million (R2.4 billion) | ||
| Bet Slip Price | R35 | ||
| Draw Time | Tuesday and Friday 21:00 EET | ||
EuroMillions
We have already mentioned how France has a happy habit of producing some of the finer things in life, and EuroMillions is no exception! EuroMillions made its debut in 2004, and since then has firmly established itself as the crème de la crème of European lotteries.
Drawn twice a week, it has a guaranteed minimum payout of €17 million, and you can start to collect the smaller payouts for matching just two numbers! To make things even more interesting, the EuroMillions Superdraw rolls around just a few times a year and delivers a guaranteed minimum top payout of €130 million!
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| Overall Odds | 1 in 11 | ||
| Format | 5 numbers from 1 to 50 PLUS 2 stars from 1 to 12 | ||
| Record Payout | €250 Million (R5.3 Billion) | ||
| Bet Slip Price | R60 | ||
| Draw Times | Every Tuesday and Friday 21.00-21.10 CET | ||
Smaller and Seasonal Lotteries
The five lotteries previously discussed are arguably the most popular European lotteries, but your options do not end there! Europe is also home to the popular Irish and Polish lotteries which are all available to bet on at Lottoland. In addition to this, Spain also provides three seasonal lotteries where the total prize funds reach billions of rand!
Irish Lotto
It’s fair to say that for most people Ireland is more famous for Guinness and leprechauns than it is for its lotto. This is why people are often surprised to discover that its lotto is one of the more popular bets at Lottoland. A closer examination reveals that this shouldn’t really be a surprise, with eight different payout tiers and a minimum top payout of €2 million. However, the secret to this popularity lies in the chances of winning the top payout. In the Irish Lotto, your odds of hitting the top tier are 1 in 10.7 million. These odds may seem long, but they compare very favourably to the 138 million to 1 chance you have in the EuroMillions!
Polish Lotto
The Polish Lotto is one of the cheapest and most straightforward lotto’s in Europe. Simply choose six numbers from 49, bet just R15, then sit back, relax, and wait for the numbers to be called! The record payout for the Polish Lotto was PLN 35 million (R162 million) which is not a bad return from R20! Even better, for just R5 extra you can participate in an extra event, Polish Lotto Plus, with a guaranteed prize fund of c.R5 million!
El Niño
Loteria del Niño, or El Niño, is an annual raffle-style lottery that dates back to the 19th century. Occurring on the 6th of January every year, El Nino has very generous odds, which makes it such an attractive proposition for so many Spaniards each year. Approximately 35 out of every 100 tickets will get a payout of some sort, making El Niño one of the most generous in the world!
El Gordo
El Gordo is another annual Spanish lottery during the festive period. Literally translated as “The Fat One”, El Gordo has been a huge event in Spain since its inception in 1812. Today it is best known for its legendary prize pot, which reached more than €2.5 billion in 2022. Over 75% of adults in Spain are thought to participate in the draw, which is held every year on 22nd December. Winning the top payout would surely make for a very Merry Christmas indeed!
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Selected Other European Lotteries
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| Lottery | Price | Overall Odds | Record Payout | ||
| Irish Lotto |
R44 | 1 in 29 | €19 Million (R386 million) | ||
| Polish Lotto |
R20 | 1 in 54 | PLN 35 million (R162 million) | ||
| El Niño |
R100-5,000 | 1 in 3 | €2,000,000 (R40.6 million) | ||
| El Gordo/Christmas Lottery |
R100-5,000 | 1 in 7 | €4,000,000 (R81 million) | ||
The Newest European Lottery: EuroDreams
Europe is a true hotbed of lottery innovation, with seemingly every country having their own style of lottery. The biggest lotteries, however, are when the continent bets together to produce lottos like EuroJackpot and EuroMillions. These two lotto’s are by far and away the most popular in Europe, so it is no surprise that another continent-wide lotto has been launched!
The EuroDreams lottery is brought to us by the same people who produced EuroMillions, although it is markedly different. In this lottery, you will choose from less numbers (from 1 to 40), and you will also select one ‘Dream” number (from 1 to 5).
The payouts are very different as well. Instead of winning a “lump sum”, winners will be paid an amazing €20,000 per month for 30 years! For us in South Africa, that would mean receiving around R4.68 million annually for thirty years. The odds of winning are pretty attractive too, with the chances of winning the top payout coming in at just 1 in 19,191,900.
European Lotteries – The Choice is Yours!
Despite the fact that we have already covered nine different European lotteries, the truth is that we have barely even scratched the surface of the lotteries that you can bet on at Lottoland. We haven’t even mentioned the daily lotteries, the kenos or the mini-lotto, and that’s even before we get started on the lotteries from the rest of the world!
These nine lotteries are all amongst the most popular on Lottoland, and equally worthy of further attention. Whether you choose the Irish, German, Polish, Spanish, or any other versions, we wish you good luck, ádh mór, viel Glück, powodzenia and buena suerte!
European Lotteries FAQ
CAN I PARTICIPATE IN EUROPEAN LOTTERIES FROM SOUTH AFRICA?
Yes! All you need to do is register for a Lottoland account and you will have an extensive choice of European lotteries to choose from.
WHICH EUROPEAN LOTTERY OFFERS THE BIGGEST PAYOUT?
The biggest European payout was R7.5 billion from the Italian national lottery after the lottery rolled over for an incredible 635 days.
The biggest guaranteed minimum payout is the EuroMillions, which has a guaranteed amount of R329 million.
WHICH EUROPEAN LOTTERY HAS THE BEST ODDS?
The European lottery with the best odds of winning the top payout is the Austrian Lotto (1:8,145,060), followed by the Irish (1:10,737,573) and Polish (1:13,983,816) Lotto’s.
Spain’s El Niño and El Gordo de Verano lottos have the best overall odds of winning something, with both giving you a 1 in 3 chance of taking home a payout.
T
by
Tom
What I Cover: I am always intrigued to discover how lotteries from around the world can seem so different. Thanks to this interest, you will find me writing about the histories, traditions and records of lotteries from every corner of the world!
I am also an avid sports fan, so from time to time I will also cover in-depth guides to help you understand how sports betting works.
My Background: I have been working in the industry since 2020. In that time I have written countless articles related to lotteries, sports, casinos and the history of gambling.
Journalistic Ethics: My role is to help you navigate the world of lottery and sports betting with as much ease as possible. This is why you will find my articles informative, accurate, up-to-date and helpful.
Contact Me: I'd love to hear from you! Leave me a comment under any of my articles and I will reply as soon as I can!
