If you buy a EuroMillions ticket in Ireland, you are automatically entered into the supplementary game. You receive a random code for each line you play and ten winners are selected in every draw to receive €5,000. Go to the Ireland Only Raffle page to find out more about how it works.
When a special draw is announced, one of the regular winners is selected at random to receive an additional €1 million. The first of these millionaire raffles was held in February 2017, but they have recently started to become far more frequent and the upcoming draw will mark the third month in a row when one has taken place.
Previous €1 Million Winners
The most recent Ireland Only Raffle to offer an extra €1 million was on Friday 6th July. The winning ticket was sold at the Spar Store in Co Galway’s Ballybrit Technology Park, and a syndicate of work colleagues later came forward to collect the prize.
They were determined to keep news of their €1,005,000 windfall ‘top secret’ at work because they didn’t want any fuss. The syndicate leader said: “We never expected that it could have been us. Once I checked the ticket I started ringing each member of the syndicate and their reaction was a mixture of pure shock and elation. It’s a nice feeling having to ring people to tell them that they’ve just won a large sum of money.”
The group added that the best part of the win was that so many families would benefit. Describing the moment as ‘magical’, they added that plans for how to spend the money included paying off mortgages and loans, going on holidays and buying new cars.
A small work syndicate from Waterford also won the previous €1,005,000 Ireland Only Raffle prize on Friday 1st June. They had only been playing together since September and checked their ticket while grabbing a sandwich on the way to work. One of the winners said: “There was barely a tap done in work that day as our heads were gone. We called it a day before lunchtime!”
Syndicate Benefits
Whether you play in Ireland or any of the other EuroMillions countries, joining a syndicate is an excellent option as it allows you to enter multiple lines and increase your odds of winning without having to spend more money. By teaming up with others, you are also keeping costs down. Even if you miss out on a prize in the main draw, you might land something in one of the additional games, just like the last two €1,005,000 winners in the Ireland Only Raffle.
All nine participating nations offer special draws for the chance to win extra prizes, from the Millionaire Maker in the UK to France’s My Million or El Millon in Spain. Each country keeps a percentage of the money raised from its own ticket sales to pay for these awards, while contributing to a shared prize fund for the main game. The EuroMillions jackpot currently stands at £42 million (€47 million) for the next draw on Friday.