EuroMillions vs EuroJackpot: What's the Difference?
EuroMillions and EuroJackpot are the two biggest pan-European lotteries, and people often assume they're the same game with two names. They're not — but they're also more alike than most players realize. Here's a real, fact-by-fact comparison.
Same format, same odds
Both games ask you to pick 5 main numbers from a pool of 50, plus 2 bonus numbers (Lucky Stars for EuroMillions, Euro Numbers for EuroJackpot) from a pool of 12. Because the format is identical, the math is too: both games have jackpot odds of exactly 1 in 139,838,160. Neither game gives you better odds than the other — see our full lottery odds guide for how that number is calculated.
Both also draw twice a week, on Tuesdays and Fridays, at the same frequency.
Where they differ: the jackpot cap
This is the biggest practical difference between the two games. EuroMillions has a jackpot cap of €240 million, while EuroJackpot caps at €120 million — half as much. Once either lottery's jackpot reaches its cap, any further rollovers get distributed to the next prize tier down instead of growing the top prize further, which is why EuroMillions has produced some of Europe's largest-ever lottery jackpots.
Where they differ: participating countries
EuroMillions is sold in a smaller group of Western European countries, primarily the UK, France, Spain, Portugal, Ireland, Belgium, Luxembourg, Switzerland, and Austria. EuroJackpot has a much wider footprint across Europe, sold in 19 countries including Germany, Italy, Spain, the Netherlands, the Nordic countries (Denmark, Finland, Norway, Sweden), and much of Central and Eastern Europe (Poland, Czechia, Slovakia, Hungary, Croatia, Slovenia, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania), plus Iceland and Greece.
In practice, this means if you live in Germany, Poland, or one of the Nordic countries, EuroJackpot is usually the pan-European option available to you, while EuroMillions is more commonly sold in Western Europe.
So which one should you play?
Since the odds are identical, this comes down to personal preference rather than a mathematical edge: EuroMillions if you want exposure to potentially larger jackpots (up to €240M) and it's available where you are, or EuroJackpot if it's the pan-European option sold in your country, or if you simply prefer its numbers and draw presentation. Neither choice changes your odds of winning.