Talk:EuroMillions

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Contents

[edit] 12th Week

Can someone clear up my confusion please... is this week (draw on 3rd Feb) the week that the jackpot will go to the 2nd level if noone wins, or is it next week?... also did anyone win tonight(3rd Feb)? Just wondering - Aled D 22:30, 3 February 2006 (UTC)

Next week (see link under prize structure about max rollovers) Today was the 11th rollover, if not won, where will be a 12th rollover, but no more are allowed. Remember 12 rollovers means 13 weeks. No info on winners or lack therof yet. MartinRe 22:40, 3 February 2006 (UTC)
note to self, 12 rollovers=13 weeks means that my article footnote note is phrased incorrectly, as I seem to have mixed up rollover and weeks running too. Anyone else want to phrase this better, as every way I thought of was untidy. MartinRe 23:00, 3 February 2006 (UTC)
correction - latest is that three french tickets shared the €183,573,077 win. MartinRe 22:42, 3 February 2006 (UTC)
Thanks, now not so confused... by the way according to the BBC it is two french winners and one portugal winner. - Aled D 22:18, 4 February 2006 (UTC)
I stand to correct myself again. (regarding the rollover rules) see new section as it's more complicated that I first thought! MartinRe 23:34, 4 February 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Rollover rules

I've now found the actual terms and conditions about the "rolldown procedure" [1] which can be summerised as follows:

  • Prior to the change, there was no Jackpot cap.
  • A jackpot cap was introduced that would "roll down" the jackpot, if not won on the twelfth draw (i.e. 11 rollovers)
  • This rule does not apply on Feb 3rd. (i.e. if it wasn't won last friday it would have rolled over)
  • A special Jackpot rolldown rule applies on Feb 10th, if not won, if it is the thirteenth draw (i.e. 12 rollovers)

Confused? Me too. Anyone know why the change made an exception for Feb 3rd, and just didn't switch to 12 draws straight away? MartinRe 23:42, 4 February 2006 (UTC)

Because on these rules were changed just prior to this draw (ie after the draw on the week before Feb 3rd, but before the Feb 3rd draw) and im sure someone would have sued them for changing the jackpot from £100million to £10million, probably not allowed after they have advertised it. Rob.derosa 08:54, 9 August 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Notable wins

I think it would be better to wait until there was an actual notable win before posting updates. Dolores win was notable was notable because it was the largest single winner, I'm sure there are larger jackpot amounts in other lotteries (Spanish lottery have very large jackpots, but rarely have single winnners as tickets are sold in tenths.) MartinRe 00:13, 21 January 2006 (UTC)

I stand to corect myself, from the other lottery page, the euromillions draw is the largest jackpot, as well as the largest single prize to date. Considered reverting my change, but think it better to wait until actual prize (or else would encourage daily updagte of estimated jackpot amounts). Obviously once results show there is a winner/winners, I'm sure someone will jump in and update it! MartinRe 00:30, 21 January 2006 (UTC)
I see 146m euro is the figure floating around for the estimate next jackpot (but I've yet to see a citation). I think it would be better to wait for correct figures next friday, or we'll be forever updating as the estimate changes. Personally, I think the most we should say is that it will be > current figure, which is what I originally put in the main lottery page. I see that's also been changed to the 146m figure (also without citing a source). Remember Wikipedia is not a crystal ball so guesses at future events should be limited. MartinRe 23:53, 21 January 2006 (UTC)
I see the jackpot of €152,882,223 hasn't been won tonight. MartinRe 22:01, 27 January 2006 (UTC)
Also, if the jackpot is won by a single person, it will also be the worldwide record amount paid out, the US amounts are lower [2] because of tax taken off the initial figure. MartinRe 11:06, 3 February 2006 (UTC)
Legally it wouldnt be; in the US you effectively get the entire sum, and pay some of it back to the government - income tax.

[edit] Redirect

As you can see from the edit history, my personal preference would be to have this article redirecting to the National Lottery article, which already included a detailed paragraph about EuroMillions. Since User:Gerbon689 would not appear to agree with me about this (and I take the point that this is not a UK-only draw) i have now moved the info from the National Lottery article, to this one. Anyone else's comments welcome... UkPaolo 17:30, 14 August 2005 (UTC)

It's not just that it was in the National Lottery article (although that was part of it). It also just seems to need a page of it's own anyway. No matter what the article was, I wouldn't have really been happy with it in another article. (Part of that is because I think it draws more attention for additions when it's on its own and has a stub tag) - Gerbon689 11:16, 15 August 2005 (UTC)
Fair point... feel free to change the current version of the article as you see fit. UkPaolo 18:02, 15 August 2005 (UTC)

[edit] Dolores McNamara's winnings

In the Dolores McNamara article, she is said to have won €113 million. In the Limerick and List of Limerick people articles, she is said to have won €116 million. In this article, she is said to have won €115,436,126 (so €115 million to the nearest million). Which figure is correct?

[edit] Odds, restructuring, how to play

I have expanded this article, the main new feature is a table of odds. I have also structured the article to bring order to the extended content, I've also added a section on how to play, although very simple I believe it to be quite useful, but would appreciate any improvements. As well as they I would love to see this article expand and grow under the new organisation I have given it (and no doubts all my numerous errors will be corrected). Thnaks --Sclaydonuk 20:30, 4 January 2006 (UTC)

Nice enhancements, I've wikified your changes and formatting slightly. └ UkPaolo/talk┐ 20:47, 4 January 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Estimated winnings

I'm unsure about the GBP figures that were recently changed. The original figures were official estimates, as per the back of the payslip, the latest results appear to be simply last weeks results, which aren't a valid indication of long term trends. (Query raised on user talk page, directed here for response) I don't think once off figures are a good basis for an estimate, especially when official estimates are available. Are the EUR and CHF figures also based off one set of results, or does anyone have a EUR/CHF payslip with the odds/estimates on it? (Aside, are the estimate prizes in EUR the same for all countries?) MartinRe 17:55, 3 February 2006 (UTC)

In other words, are these just offical figures for a particular week, rather than offical estimates? MartinRe 18:01, 3 February 2006 (UTC)

Yeah they were just the latest figures i found online... I will change it back and update it with the figures on the back of the ticket that are estimates!Ablaze 18:08, 3 February 2006 (UTC)
Cool. As you can imagine figures taken from any one week are unreliable as estimates - especially now as sales are running several times normal! I guess you have access to an Irsh EUR payslip, which would make the GBP and EUR figures offically correct. Don't know what best to do with CHF figures. Remove them? Estimate the estimate by using the current figures and converting to CHF? Either way, I think if they're left in, there should be a note to say there aren't official estimates, so if someone has access to a CHF ticket they know it needs doing. MartinRe 18:23, 3 February 2006 (UTC)
The estimated prize can vary from country to country (I think). If Wikipedia mentions these figures, they should be some kind of average over the different countries, and certainly in euro (rather than GBP or CHF), with a disclaimer about their accuracy. – Adhemar 11:10, 13 May 2006 (UTC)
The estimates prize does indeed vary from country to country, as the prize depends on participation. However, it appear that only the UK has published offical estimates that we are aware of. And as the the verifiable source for this info quotes the figures in GBP, we should do also. Comparasion to EUR wouldn't be a god idea, as these estimates are ongoing, and the exchange rate changes (as opposed to notable prizes where we can use the exchange rate on that day to fix the conversion). Regards, MartinRe 12:12, 13 May 2006 (UTC)
I actually have access to an Irish and Swiss slip (when i played on holidays in Switzerland) but it doesnt say anything on the back of them. The Irish one only shows the odds of winning, which are nearly the same as what is on the page (1 off in about three of them). Strange... Ablaze 18:30, 3 February 2006 (UTC)
I actually have access to a Belgian slip, but I don’t see any estimated prizes mentioned either. –Adhemar 11:12, 13 May 2006 (UTC)

I know these numbers are out-dated estimates (following above discussion) but can someone explain how it is that as the odds go up, the % of prize doesn't go up the same? Example, 2 main numbers with 1 lucky star with odds of 1 in 39 wins 24.0%, yet 3 main numbers with 2 lucky stars with considerably more difficult odds of 1 in 7,705 earn's only 1.0%. I noticed a similar strangeness on another lotto's projections and didn't understand it there either.

Looks like there is some tier information that is missing. The % of prizes shown are of that particular tier (win combination). —The preceding unsigned comment was added by Casemon hd (talk • contribs) 15:05, 24 January 2007 (UTC).

[edit] Draw location

The Irish EuroMillions broadcast says that the draw takes place in Paris, not Switzerland. Can someone confirm one way or the other? Stifle (talk) 22:07, 1 May 2006 (UTC)

UK web site also states Paris, as does several other sources (e.g http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/4653154.stm) however, I can't find anything definitive saying that it was always the case, is it possible that the draw location rotates through the counties that are involved in it? MartinRe 22:30, 1 May 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Where does the money go?

Do the takings merely go towards the prizes and Camelot's profits or are there any other benefactors? Pgr94 15:39, 3 November 2006 (UTC)

Yes? Where do they go. I suspect that profits are distributed to national lottery bodies, which then distribute according to their normal policy, ie. a certain amount for expenses and the rest to charity.

By email correspondence with help@national-lottery.co.uk Pgr94 14:02, 17 November 2006 (UTC)
The total Euromillion revenue is broken down as follows:
0.5% in profit to Camelot
4.5% in operating costs
5% in commission to the retailers. 
12% to the Government (Lottery Duty)
28% for the Good Causes
50% to winners

[edit] Limited rollovers

If the EuroMillions jackpot isn't won, why the number of rollovers are limited to 11? Why don't they increase the prize and held another drawing? A big time lottery in America has been rolled over 15 times without a jackpot winner. If still nobody wins, they'll bring it up roll over until someone wins it. 61.9.126.41

Because one of the reasons why they have limited to stop it rolling over so many times is to stop big syndicates buying up all of the possible combinations, and then making a huge profit. The lottery was dsigned for fun, not to be seen as a way of making money! The winners of the lottery usually deserve to win anyway, and so should they! Weavale

I guess that could be true. If the jackpot is at a record high, they would make all the combinations to secure their chances of winning. Thus they would win more than what they would spend in buying the tickets. Perhaps this is not the case in those big time lotteries in America since the odd of winning the jackpot are two times harder and the prices are taxable. 61.9.126.41

I'm confused at your statement "to stop it rolling over so many times is to stop big syndicates buying up all of the possible combinations".
Exactly how do they "buy" the lottery number combinations, if the syndicate can't exactly predict with over 76,275,360 combinations...
And "hey would win more than what they would spend in buying the tickets"...I mean, isn't the idea of buying the ticket is to actually gain more?
(Sorry, But I am struggling to read your English! ^_^;)
I think there should be about more than 12 rollovers, until someone wins. Because I want that someone to win a bigger jackpout while every other winners get a bigger share (or a lot more winners of other prizes) AND I want to be that someone =)
88.105.76.89 (talk) 23:50, 30 January 2008 (UTC)

If there are 10 combinations, the cost of one ticket is £1 and the jackpot is £11. You could buy all 10 combinations and be guarenteed a 10% profit, not bad on a 2 day investment. Of course, the reasoning falls down once you add in a second winner who splits the jackpot with you. Possible, but I doubt anyone with the 100billion or so euros available would risk it on such a scheme

[edit] What machines used?

I wonder what kind of lottery machines are used in EuroMillions? Is it those that blow the balls around with fans or the ones with containers that turn? -61.9.126.41-

They use the same machines as used in the UK. A three legged metal fan turns and then the balls are released into the machine. Balls are then dropped out one by one. UK residents can watch the draw at 22:30 (GMT) on UKTV Gold. There are seperate machines for the main number balls and the lucky star balls.
This is probably a bit old, but just to say, its not shown on UKTV Gold any more, nor does it seem to be at 22:30. The 8/2/08 superdraw is on BBC1 at 23:35. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 82.10.237.3 (talk) 23:10, 8 February 2008 (UTC)

[edit] Please provide sterling amounts for all prizes

Some of the figures are converted into U.S. dollars, but not pounds. Since this lottery operates in the UK, but not in the US, this is hardly appropriate, or helpful to the users who are most likely to by interested in this article. Carina22 11:00, 14 August 2007 (UTC)

Totally agree! That's why I've added sterling amounts, but they're at today's exchange rate, not the exchange rate of the date the various sums of money were won. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 84.71.178.182 (talk) 13:53, 29 January 2008 (UTC)

[edit] Nationality

Is it required to be an EU national to play Euromillion. For example, can a foreigner living in France play it (online)?? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 83.156.247.195 (talk) 22:27, August 28, 2007 (UTC)

This must be completely false. Switzerland are a participating country, and Swiss nationals are NOT EU citizens --Luke w (talk) 11:49, 31 January 2008 (UTC)

[edit] Germany

How come Germany ain't part of the EuroMillions participating countries?

Germany's got quite a big population, even Italy as well.

Perhaps Germany refused to join into the EuroMillions fad?

88.105.55.192 13:07, 6 October 2007 (UTC)

The decision to enter EuroMillions is not taken by any government, but rather by the individual lottery companies. Therefore, lottery companies in Germany, Italy and the other European Union nations, would have to join the EuroMillions individually on behalf of their nations. The UK, France and Spain (the original founder nations) each have a single, (privitised) national lottery. As I understand it, Germany has more regionalised lotteries (though I may be wrong on that). —Preceding unsigned comment added by 84.71.178.182 (talk) 13:59, 29 January 2008 (UTC)

I want the Germans to join in, too! >.< (So the jackpot money gets bigger for me.) 88.105.76.89 (talk) 23:52, 30 January 2008 (UTC)