Biggest Lottery in the World
It’s a big world, filled with lottery choices. Here, you’ll dive into the best payouts in history and the biggest lottery in the world.
The world has a host of lotteries, all with special winning records and statistics. Deciding on the best and biggest lottery in the world can seem overwhelming if you don’t have all relevant information present.
Here you’ll learn what the most favoured games around the world are, how much their largest jackpot was, how to play, and more.
Take no chances when choosing your game of chance.
The Most Favoured Lotteries Around The World
The biggest and best international lotteries in the world include:
- Powerball
- Mega Millions
- Eurojackpot
- Mega Sena
- Euromillions
- El Gordo
- SuperEnalotto
- La Primitiva
- German Lotto 6aus49
- Canada Lotto 6/49
Powerball
PowerBall is a US lottery founded in 1992. It is also held to be the best and biggest lottery in the world.
Tickets cost $2, choosing 5 no. and 1 PowerBall figure. Mirror the 6 figures to win the jackpot. Additionally for $1, you get to choose the Double Play, which heightens Non-Jackpot wins by 2, 3, 4, 5 or 10.
Drawing the winning tickets takes place each Tues & Fri at 9pm, Eastern Time.
Mega Millions
Mega Millions is an American lottery founded in 1996, known then as The Big Game.
With its multi-tier prize options, it is one of the largest payout games for Non-Jackpot prizes in the world.
You pick 5 figures from 1 to 70 and 1 figure from 1 to 25 for the Mega Ball. To win the Jackpot, you have to mirror all six figures.
Tickets cost $2, with nine tiers to win prizes from. Numbers are drawn every week on Tues & Fri at 11:00 pm, Eastern Time.
Just the Jackpot is a special offer for $3, where you’ll get two plays to win the Jackpot.
The Megaplier option gives you a chance to increase non-jackpot amounts by two, three, four or five times.
Some consider Mega Millions also as the best and biggest lottery in the world.
Eurojackpot
Founded in 2005 after EuroMillions gained much attention, which was founded a year earlier than EuroJackpot. This lottery is one of the best and biggest in the world, involves many European countries, and is multinational.
You select five figures from 1-50 and two Euro Numbers from 1-10. Players have 12 tiers to win from. Mirror the 7 numbers and you win the jackpot.
The jackpot has a cap of €90 million, making the turnover for winners much higher than other lotteries. Tickets cost 2€.
The draws fall on Tuesdays and Fridays every week at 21:00, Helsinki time.
Mega Sena
Founded in 1996, MegaSena is Brazil’s largest lottery. Numbers are drawn every Wed and Sat at 9pm, Brazil time.
Per play, tickets cost £1.50. Select six numbers from 1 – 60, and if you get all six, you win the grand jackpot
With only three tiers for prize earnings, your odds for winning the non-jackpot prize are much higher than many lotteries, and for that reason is held as one of the best and biggest in the world.
Mega Sena also has a special annual prize called the Mega Da Virada, which is held every New Years Eve. Five percent of every Mega Sena throughout the year accumulates to form a massive grand jackpot. The number selection is the same as Mega Sena, where you choose six numbers for the draw.
Euromillions
Euromillions
is a multinational lottery involving many European countries, founded in 2004. There are no restrictions for nationality, and anyone older than 18 years of age can play.
Draw times occur every week at 8:45pm on Tues and Fri, Central European Time. Tickets cost €2.50.
Mirror the five numbers and the two luckystar numbers, and you win the grand jackpot.
There are thirteen tiers of prizes you can win from, so this makes it a favourable lottery for many people, as the prize payouts mean you have a great chance of winning many different prize amounts. For this reason, many hold this as one of the best and biggest in the world.
El Gordo
El Gordo was founded in Spain, called the Spanish Christmas Lottery, a special lottery held by Lotería Nacional. Drawn every 22 December, 9am Central European Time, and is one of Spain’s most favoured and played lottery games, and one of the best and biggest in the world.
Based on the total tickets purchased and available prize money, this lottery is considered the highest lottery in the world. Many think of it as the biggest lottery in the world.
A full El Gordo ticket costs €200, and since many people can’t afford the price, they buy the €20, which entitles them to 10 percent of the winnings for any prize.
Each ticket is printed with a five digit number, broken up into series. Each series produces 100 thousand original numbers, broken up into series each time the number of tickets bought exceeds 100 thousand.
For example, 170 series of 100,000 tickets each were bought in 2019, meaning €2.38 billion was available in total for the prizes.
El Gordo, meaning the “fat one” is an annual celebration, and because of the complex numbers and amount of ticket holders that allow many people the biggest and smaller wins, it’s always been difficult to measure how many people walk away winners.
SuperEnalotto
SuperEnalotto was founded 1997, and is Italy’s most favoured lottery, with jackpot payouts as some of the worlds highest, making it one of the best and biggest in the world. The draws occur at 8pm every Saturday, Tuesday, and Thursday, Central European Time.
You choose six numbers from one to ninety. Matching all six results in you winning the grand jackpot. Including the jackpot, you have six prize tiers to win from.
SuperEnalotto also has what is called a Jolly Number, which is a tier below the jackpot, giving players a chance to win extra if they match all five digits plus the Jolly Number.
Ticket prices are €1 a play, and an extra €0.50 to play a SuperStar number. Superstar numbers increase your prize amounts.
If you match all 6 jackpot numbers plus the SuperStar number, you’ll receive an extra €2 million added onto your jackpot. If you match all 5 numbers, the Jolly Number, and the Superstar number, you’ll have an extra €1 million added onto your prize, and so on.
La Primitiva
La Primitiva, translated as The Primitive One, is the longest running lottery game in the world, founded in 1763 by the Spanish government, and seen as one of the best and biggest in the world.
You choose six numbers from one to forty-nine, and one number called the Reintegro, from zero to nine. If you match all six numbers and the Reintegro, you result in winning the biggest jackpot.
The jackpot is not the only way you can win with the La Primitiva. Including the jackpot, there are seven different tiers you can win prizes from, depending on the numbers matched.
Despite its popularity and amount of tickets bought, the odds for winning are one of the best for any lottery in the world.
Draw times are held every week on Saturday and Thursday at 9:30am, Central European Time. Tickets per play cost €1.
German Lotto 6aus49
The German Lotto also known as Lotto 6 aus 49 is part of the longest running European lotteries, with their very first draw in 1955.
To play you choose six numbers from one to forty-nine, and an extra number called the Superzahl from zero to nine.
To win the grand jackpot, you must match all six numbers and the Superzahl. There are a total of nine tiers that you can win prizes from, making it one of the best and biggest in the world.
Draw times are every week on Wednesday at 6.25pm German Time, and Saturday at 7.25pm German time. A basic ticket costs €1.20, with 3 additional extras you can play to increase the odds of winning and the amount won.
Canada Lotto 6/49
Based in Canada, Lotto 6/49 was founded in 1982, and is one of the three best and biggest lotteries in Canada.
You choose six numbers from one to forty-nine. If you match all six numbers, the result is winning the grand jackpot.
Draws are held every week on Wednesday and Saturday at 7:30 pm, Pacific Time.
Tickets cost only $3, and you have eight different tiers you can win prizes from, including the jackpot.
The Biggest and Best Lotteries Around The World
| Top 10 Lotteries in the World | Draw Days | Ticket Cost | Prize Winning Odds | Jackpot Winning Odds | Highest Win in History |
| Powerball | Tuesday & Friday @ 9pm, Eastern Time | $2 | 1 / 24.9 | 1 / 292.2 million | $1.59 Billion |
| Mega Millions | Tuesday & Friday @ 11:00 pm, Eastern Time | $2 | 1 in 24 | 1 / 302.5 million | $1.537 billion |
| Eurojackpot | Friday @ 21:00, Helsinki time. | €2 | 1 / 26 | 1 / 95 Million | €90 million cap |
| Mega Sena | Wednesday & Saturday @ 9pm, Brazil time | £1.50 | 1 / 2,298 | 1 / 50 Million | R$263.2 million |
| Euromillions | Tuesday and Friday @ 8:45pm, Central European Time | €2.50 | 1 / 13 | 1 / 139 Million | €220 Million |
| El Gordo | 22 December @ 9am, Central European Time | €200 / €20 | 1 / 100,000 | 1 / 139 Million | €4 Million |
| SuperEnalotto | Saturday, Tuesday, and Thursday @ 8pm, Central European Time | €1 | 1 / 20 | 1 / 622 Million | €177.7 million |
| La Primitiva | Saturday & Thursday @ 9:30am, Central European Time | €1 | 1 / 8 | 1 / 13,9 Million | €101.7 million |
| German Lotto 6aus49 | Wednesday @ 6.25pm & Saturday @ 7.25pm, German time | €1.20 | 1 / 57 | 1 / 139 Million | €45.4 million |
| Canada Lotto 6/49 | Wednesday & Saturday @ 7:30 pm, Pacific Time | $3 | 1 / 6.6 | 1 / 13,9 Million | $64 million |
How To Decide On The Best Lottery To Play
There are a few factors to consider when looking for the best and biggest lottery game to bet against.
The odds of winning, how much the jackpot is going for, what additional games can heighten your chances of winning, how much the tickets cost, and what are the regions tax rates, are all questions you might ask yourself.
Refer back to the table above for the best ticket prices, biggest jackpot comparisons, and more.
Consider Lottery Games That Have Extras and Multipliers
Many lottery games have multipliers and extras that increase your chances of winning non-jackpot prizes of great value, and the biggest prizes outside the jackpot.
For only a small extra fee to enter into those categories, many find the additional prize value exciting, as you can still win big without the jackpot.
The Jackpot and their Odds
Each lottery has their own prize structures and jackpot amounts. The more a game is played, the smaller the odds of winning are.
The US PowerBall has the highest single payout for 1 ticket in the jackpot hall of fame, yet the odds are much lower for winning than smaller lotteries, with the PowerBall odds for the jackpot at 1 in 292.2 million.
The smaller the lottery game, the smaller the jackpot, but the greater the odds of you winning, make up for the prize difference, and make them one of the best to play. Refer to the table above for more details on each game’s odds, biggest current jackpot amount, and more.
The Taxes for Prize Earnings
No tax percentage will stop a player from entering a game that could change their life forever, but it’s always a good thing to be familiar with the lottery tax percentage and rules within the region you are playing.
There are many regions and countries that pay out winning prizes tax-free, so don’t forget to look-up the tax deduction for the country you are playing in.
It is also recommended to get a tax professional to help you through the process if and when you win that life-changing jackpot worth millions and millions.
The Lottery You Choose, Is The Right Lottery For You
After all is said and done, the lottery you choose will be the best lottery for you.
Taking into account the odds, and ticket prices, and jackpot amounts, and with all the information provided above, you’re well on your way to deciding which one will work best for you.
May the odds be ever in your favour, and remember, half the fun of playing the lottery is the thrill of playing the game with millions of others, all sharing the same goal.
I transform my interest in lotteries to useful articles.
