Buying Tickets Abroad

Although some nations might be perceived as being luckier than others due to the number of EuroMillions lottery jackpots they have won in the past, a closer inspection of the figures usually reveals that there is no real bias taking place.

The number of winners that we can expect in any given country is related to the number of tickets bought in that country. A highly populated nation buying twice as many tickets as another country should – on average – win twice as many prizes, but that is only because of the number of tickets played.

In terms of winning potential, the country you buy your tickets in will not make any difference whatsoever. The odds of winning EuroMillions are exactly the same – 1 in 76,275,360 – no matter where you buy your ticket. The lottery has to be set up in this way so that the game is completely fair to players in France, Spain, the UK and all other participating nations.

That said, it can sometimes make sense to buy tickets abroad if you are going to be there for some time, because EuroMillions rules state that you can only claim a prize in the country where the winning ticket was purchased. So, if you are going to France on holiday, you could buy a ticket there as long as you make sure you claim your prize there.

If you don’t think that this will be convenient, buying a ticket in the UK before you depart might be better, though of course in that case you will have to wait until you return to the UK to claim your prize. If you choose to do this then remember that winning tickets are only valid for a certain period of time, and that if you miss the claims deadline your win will be rendered null and void.