What is a Superdraw?
Superdraws are special events which only take place a few times a year. They go by different names in the nine participating countries, including Megadraws in Ireland and Super Jackpots in France, and are scheduled a few weeks in advance.
In a Superdraw, the jackpot is increased to a set amount, usually €130 million. It doesn’t matter if the jackpot has been won or not in the preceding draw, or whether it was a long way short of the advertised figure. Tuesday’s top prize was worth £22 million, so it is a huge boost of almost £100 million for this Superdraw.
The jackpot is topped up to €130 million from the Reserve Fund, which receives a percentage of the prize fund from every single draw. The money only becomes available for this sort of prize every few months, as the Reserve Fund is mainly in place to ensure that the minimum jackpot of €17 million can always be paid for.
If the jackpot isn’t won on the night, it rolls over to the next draw as normal and an even larger amount will be put up for grabs. There is a jackpot cap of €190 million in EuroMillions, so there is room for it keep growing for several more draws.
Big Winners
Superdraws have helped to create some of the game’s biggest jackpots, including the €175 million winners from Ireland who finally halted the run of rollovers after the most recent big event in February. Players from Portugal and Spain have also previously claimed the maximum €190 million following Superdraws.
The biggest wins in the UK date back several years, to Chris and Colin Weir’s £161 million jackpot in July 2011 and then Adrian and Gillian Bayford’s £148 million payout in August 2012. The third winner on the list, though, received their £121 million prize following a Superdraw in April 2018. They came forward just a few days later and chose to stay anonymous.
A UK winner in tonight’s Superdraw would slot in just below in the country’s all-time list, alongside the Northern Ireland couple who pocketed £114 million on 1st January this year. Frances and Patrick Connolly, from County Amagh, also came forward very quickly, revealing that they had celebrated with a cup of tea and planned to share the money with around 50 of their loved ones.
How To Win The Superdraw
There is no guaranteed way to win a EuroMillions jackpot, but going with random numbers has proved successful for some players. The Connollys entered an online Lucky Dip, while it was also a Quick Pick ticket that won it for the Irish family in February. Use the EuroMillions Number Generator to produce a random set of numbers for yourself.
You might also want to analyse the statistics to see the most frequently drawn, least common and overdue numbers. The most common numbers from all draws have been 50, 23, 44, 4 and 19, along with Lucky Stars 2 and 8. However, you should remember that each combination of numbers has an identical chance of appearing in a draw, regardless of what has happened in the past.
The only way to boost your chances is to enter more lines, which you may decide to do until the jackpot drops down again. Alternatively, you could join a syndicate so that you have more tickets but split the cost with other players.
The Irish family in February played as a group, and there have been many been syndicate wins over the years. These lucky players have often spoke about the joy of sharing the winning experience together, whether they have teamed up with friends,family members or colleagues.
What To Do If You Win
Once the draw has taken place, the first thing to do is see if you a winner. You can look at the latest EuroMillions Results straight away, or use the EuroMillions Checker to see if your numbers or Millionaire Maker code have come up.
You have 180 days to claim any money if you win with a ticket bought in the UK, so make sure you know when your prize expires if you want to take some time before coming forward. For the Superdraw on Friday 7th June, the deadline is 4th December. If you miss this date, your ticket will no longer be valid and you will not be able to claim your money.
If you find you have won any award greater than £50,000, there are a few steps to claiming your prize. You must first contact the National Lottery by phone and provide a few details about your ticket so that the operators can check the information matches their records.
A validation appointment will then be arranged so that National Lottery advisors can check your ticket in person and complete any necessary paperwork. You will be required to provide two forms of identification, such as your passport and driving licence.
At this stage, you will be able to ask any questions you have and also think about whether you wish to go public or stay anonymous. It is entirely your choice, and the National Lottery will continue to be on hand to provide advice and support whatever you decide.
You can then start to think about what you would like to do with your new-found wealth, whether you would like to move home, give up work, own a fleet of sports cars or something even more extravagant like buying into a football club. You need to be in it to win it, though, so make sure to take part!