Top 10 Biggest Lottery Jackpots Ever

6aus49
The “6 out of 49” lotto is a German state lottery that, like its name suggests, allows you to pick six numbers out of 49 plus a “super number” to win the prize. The largest single winner of this lotto was €42 million in 2020, but that wasn’t even the biggest prize pool. You have more chance of being struck by lightning than you have of winning the jackpot in a national lottery, but three players did just that and managed to walk away with a combined €45.4 million. They were each handed 15 million euros (or 17.4 million US dollars) in 2007. Not that they should complain, they all became millionaires!

Drömvinsten
In 2005, Swedish gaming company “Svenska Spel” introduced “The Dream Win,” and it didn’t take long for the prize pool to rack up into the nine digits! The amount starts at 75 million Swedish krona and keeps building until someone wins. Since the odds of winning this lottery are 1 in over 300 million, some years, the jackpot builds to ridiculous levels, which happened in 2013! 238 Million SEK (or $27.7 million) was awarded to a single ticket winner who remained anonymous. Would you go public if you won a huge amount like this? Let us know in the comments!

Swiss Lotto
SwissLos is a Switzerland-based lottery company that’s been running the Swiss lottery since 1970. In 2014, one anonymous winner bagged the entire 48.6 million Swiss franc jackpot, equating to about 53 million US dollars. But wait! It gets bigger! In December of 2016, 70 million Swiss francs (or $76 million US dollars) was split between 3 winning tickets. However, what lottery fans might sympathize with is how these winnings are taxed. For prizes over 1 Million francs, 35% is withheld. But that’s still a lot more than most of us are going to see in our lifetimes!

National Lottery (United Kingdom)
The United Kingdom has a lot of lotteries for its citizens. You’ve got Set for Life, Thunderball, Lotto Hotpicks, and the UK Millionaire Maker! But all of those lotteries were predated by the National Lottery. In 2016, two tickets earned the largest ever rollover jackpot of £66 million, split between one anonymous winner and a couple from Hawick, Scotland. Shortly after this jackpot was won, the final rollover cap was lowered from £50 million to £22 million. This means it won’t ever reach that high again unless the rules change in the future.

Eurojackpot
More than 82 lotteries span across the entire European continent. But while the National Lotteries have made plenty of millionaires, 18 countries have banded together to offer one huge jackpot. Namely: The Eurojackpot. The great thing about this lottery is that it’s designed to pay out more frequently, with multiple winners walking away with 90 million Euros - over 100 million in US dollars - since 2015! But there is a cap on winnings. The jackpot can roll over from 10 million up to 90 million, but no more! If the collected jackpot exceeds that and still isn’t won, the remaining money is passed down to the 2nd prize winner! More money for everyone!

SuperEnalotto
Many national lotteries across Europe cap how big one jackpot can become before it stops stacking. Fortunately for some lucky souls, the SuperEnalotto doesn’t. This Italian lottery has never issued a limit on how much a prize can be rolled over to, and after over a year of no wins in 2019, the jackpot reached over 209 million euros. The winning ticket was bought in a bar in the small town of Lodi. That being said, the chance of winning this lotto is one of the lowest in the world! As a result, the jackpot has reached hundreds of millions multiple times, reaching €147 million in 2009 and €177 million in 2010.

EuroMillions
That’s right, Europe has not just one but two continent-wide lotteries - although each involves different countries. EuroMillions may have fewer participating countries than Eurojackpot, but their record prizes far outshine their competitor’s. And fortunately for players, those numbers keep getting bigger. In 2021 alone, single ticket holders could cash in over 200 million euros, the most enormous jackpot being €220 million (over $250 million US)! And as long as you don’t live in Switzerland, Spain, or Portugal, all those winnings are tax-free and paid on one lump sum.

Mega Millions
Of course, you can’t mention lotteries without talking about the huge jackpots from the United States. The Mega Millions lotto awarded a record-breaking amount in 2018 at 1.537 billion dollars. But as one hand gives, another taketh away - with a 37% federal tax and South Carolina’s 7% income tax. After all that, the lump sum option of $877.8 million would be brought down to $491.7 million. But that's still a lot of money! This isn’t the first time the Mega Millions has had a billion-dollar jackpot, as in 2021 a $1.05 billion jackpot was won by a four-person lottery club in Michigan.

Powerball
Spanning 45 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands, the Powerball lottery gave players the chance to win $1.58 billion in 2016. What’s interesting is that when you win the Powerball lottery, you get two options. You can either take a lump sum or receive the prize in an annuity delivered in graduated yearly payments. Maureen Smith and David Kaltschmidt took a lump sum option of $327 million, while the rest was divided between two other fortunate families. The Powerball has had mouth-watering amounts on more than one occasion, with a $758 million jackpot awarded in 2017 and a $768 million prize in 2019.

Spanish Christmas Lottery
The United States might have the biggest economy, but it doesn’t have the biggest lottery. That honor belongs to the Spanish Christmas Lottery! It’s a particular draw that happens every year on December 22nd, and what’s unique about it is how its tickets work. There are 100,000 tickets with individual number combinations, each one printed 170 times costing €200. Since it’s a smaller pool of tickets, prizes are more evenly distributed. The largest amount one ticket can earn is known as “El Gordo” or “The Big One,” which has reached €4,000,000. The total prize pool reaches €2.38 billion, or $2.74 billion in US dollars - the largest in the world.