Big jackpots come in all sizes. Get inspired by this list of record-breaking prizes, like US Powerball’s $1.586 billion prize, as we cover the biggest jackpots across the lottery spectrum – from the top jackpots across the continents to the largest daily lottery payouts, and even exciting raffles prizes!
What Are the Biggest Starting Jackpots?
Before we get to the biggest jackpots ever won, let’s see where they all start. A starting jackpot is an amount to which a lottery’s jackpot prize is reset after it’s been won. Unlike fixed jackpot prizes, such as the Texas Cash Five jackpot which is set at US$25,000, or AU Australia Monday Lotto $1 million top prize, a lottery that has a starting jackpot can keep growing with each rollover until it reaches the lottery’s cap, or until it’s won.
Lotteries with the biggest starting jackpots hail from the US and Europe. The biggest jackpots in the world, both starting and awarded, belong to US Powerball and Mega Millions. Both of the lotteries jackpot prizes reset to an estimated US$20 million* each time they’re won. This is larger than many lotteries biggest payouts! The second-biggest starting prize belongs to Europe’s transnational star: The EuroMillions. The top prize starts at €17 million and can grow with each rollover until it reaches the prize cap.
The third-largest starting jackpot is another pan-European classic: EuroJackpot! Starting at €10 million with relatively good odds and a large fanbase, this lottery’s top prize is usually won before it even reaches the jackpot limit.
*Officially, the advertised jackpot is determined by game sales and interest rates, and it is announced prior to each draw.
The Biggest Lottery Winners in the World
While most lottery fans keep up with the biggest jackpots coming out of America and Europe, exciting lottery prizes are being won all over the world! Keep reading to discover the top jackpots from local to transnational lotteries across the globe!
What Is the Biggest Jackpot in the World?
A $1.586 billion US Powerball prize won in January 2016 is currently the largest lottery jackpot ever won. This was split amongst three winners from California, Florida and Tennessee, who were each eligible to take home a $533 million slice of the prize.
Top 10 US Jackpots
The United States is famous across the globe for consistently paying out unimaginable top prizes and breaking jackpot records time and time again! America definitely comes in first place when it comes to the biggest jackpots, with US Powerball and Mega Millions paying out all top ten of the world’s biggest lottery prizes.
Check out the top 10 biggest US jackpots ever won, which also happen to be the biggest jackpots in the entire world!
| Rank | Lottery | Amount | Date |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Powerball | $1.586 billion | 13 January 2016 |
| 2 | Mega Millions | $1.537 billion | 23 October 2018 |
| 3 | Mega Millions | $1.337 billion | 29 July 2022 |
| 4 | Mega Millions | $1.05 billion | 22 January 2021 |
| 5 | Powerball | $768.4 million | 27 March 2019 |
| 6 | Powerball | $758.7 million | 23 August 2017 |
| 7 | Powerball | $731.1 million | 20 January 2021 |
| 8 | Powerball | $699.8 million | 4 October 2021 |
| 9 | Powerball | $687.8 million | 27 October 2018 |
| 10 | Mega Millions | $656 million | 20 March 2012 |
What Is the Largest Jackpot Won by a Single Player?
A $1.537 billion Mega Millions jackpot was won in the 23 October 2018 draw by a single player from the state of South Carolina, who to this day remains anonymous. Whoever won it is the biggest lottery winner in history and is the owner of the world’s second largest lottery prize ever!
The second largest prize ever won by a single player was awarded by Mega Millions as well. In July 2022, one ticket purchased in the state of Illinois matched the $1.337 billion jackpot after more than three months of rollovers. This is also third biggest jackpot in the world to date.
Europe
- The EuroMillions jackpot reached the €230 million cap and was won on 19 July 2022 by a single ticketholder from the United Kingdom! This is not only the biggest lottery prize awarded to a UK player but also the biggest Euromillions and European jackpot to date! This exciting win was produced by a Superdraw series which offered boosted jackpot prize of €130 million on 17 June.
- On 15 October 2021, a single lucky player from the south of France won a €220 million jackpot prize! A Superdraw that was staged on 24 September 2021 had a boosted jackpot of €130 million that rolled over 6 times before it reached the jackpot cap and was finally won. Since the cap was reached, the new EuroMillions prize limit will be increased to €230 million.
- A €210 million jackpot prize broke all European jackpot records in February 2021! This massive top prize was won by a single ticket purchased in Switzerland. This win came two months after the previous EuroMillions record was set and a new jackpot cap was implemented.
- Italy’s SuperEnalotto might be the best European lottery when it comes to awarding the biggest jackpot prize from a single European country! In 2019, SuperEnalotto paid out a €209 million jackpot prize to a single player from the Italian city of Lodi, in the Lombardy region. This remained the continent’s jackpot record for almost two years!
- The next two jackpots also come from EuroMillions. In December 2020, a single ticket purchased in France won the lottery’s biggest prize ever at the time – €200 million. This was the first time it had reached EuroMillions’ new jackpot cap, which was raised in February 2020 from the previous limit of €190 million.
- Europe’s third largest prize of €190 million has been won four times between 2014 and 2019. Two of the winners hail from the UK, one from Spain, and one from Portugal.
Another lottery worth noting is EuroJackpot. While the jackpot cap currently stands at €120 million, the popular pan-European lottery had a maximum top prize of €90 million until March 2022, which it has awarded on numerous occasions. The lottery’s biggest jackpot of €120 million was reached by a single ticket sold in Denmark on 22 July 2022. This is the first time the jackpot cap has been reached since it increased in March 2022.
What Is the Biggest Spanish Jackpot?
Spanish lotteries have been a staple for centuries and Spain’s biggest national lottery is La Primitiva, whose record jackpot reached €101.7 million in October 2015 after a total of 56 rollovers. The lottery was introduced to the Spanish public as the “Royal Lottery” by Carlos III in the 18th century and is Spain’s first official lottery. Another popular Spanish lottery is El Gordo, or The Fat Man, which paid out its biggest jackpot of €33 million in 2011.
South America
Latin America has had a love-affair with lottery games for hundreds of years and their exciting prizes show it!
- The biggest jackpot in South America is a COP117 billion (approximately US$65 million) Colombia Baloto jackpot awarded in September 2012. The lucky player from Bucaramanga, Colombia, won it after purchasing just a single ticket with a random set of numbers.
- The second largest jackpot of R$325 million (approximately US$62.4 million) was awarded by Brazil Mega Sena in the December 2020 New Year Superdraw called Mega da Virada. The prize was split by 2 winners who each walked away with R$162.6 million.
- Last, but definitely not least, is a huge prize that comes from Mexico’s biggest national lottery – Mexico Melate. In 2013, it awarded an enormous MXN639.6 million (approximately US$50.5 million) jackpot after a months of rollovers.
Love Latin lotteries? You’re in luck! In addition to two more Mexican lotteries, Melate Retro and the daily Chispazo, you can discover similar lotteries when you buy lottery tickets online at theLotter!
South Africa
Just like its US counterpart, South African Powerball reigns supreme in the region’s jackpot department, so it comes as no surprise that 9 out of the country’s top 10 jackpots were produced by it.
- South Africa’s top jackpot of R232.1 million (approximately US$16.4 million) was won in February 2019 by a single winner. The lucky player is a man in his 50’s who chose to remain anonymous.
- The second highest jackpot ever won in South Africa so far was claimed in July 2021. A single winning ticket entitles its owner to a jackpot worth R158 million (approximately $10.7 million).
- Sliding into third place is a R153.16 million (approximately US$9 million) South Africa Powerball jackpot that was won in July 2020. This is the biggest jackpot won by an online player to date. The lucky winners played with 10 lines, with the third one striking gold.
- The fourth largest prize of R145.4 million (approximately US$10.8 million) was won by a single ticket purchased in August 2018.
Australia
Our next list of biggest jackpots come from Down Under! Australian lotteries should not be underestimated, for they produce prizes that make playing for them a must for millions of Australians and international players alike! Like the US and South Africa, Australia’s Powerball lottery regularly hands out the country’s biggest prizes.
- An AU$150 million (approximately US$102.6 million) Australia Powerball jackpot broke all Australian records in September 2019. Each of the three winners, two from Queensland and one from New South Wales, each received AU$50 million. This is the biggest jackpot ever awarded outside of the US and Europe.
- In July 2019, just a few months prior to the country’s all-time record, a AU$110 million (approximately US$77.2 million) AU Powerball jackpot was won and split amongst 3 players from Adelaide, Victoria, and New South Wales!
- Australia’s third-largest jackpot was awarded to a single player – a healthcare worker in her 40’s – who would go on to take home the entire $107 million (approximately US$76.9 million) Powerball prize in January 2019. This is the third biggest jackpot prize ever won outside of the United States and Europe
Asia
While they may not be as famous as their American or European counterparts, many Asian lotteries have awarded some pretty impressive multi-million jackpot prizes!
- In June 2012, a single Chinese Union Lotto ticket purchased in Beijing became the sole winner of Asia’s biggest jackpot ever, worth RMB¥570 million (approximately US$90.3 million)! After Australia’s record jackpot, this is the second biggest win ever outside of the US and Europe!
- Coming in second is another lucky Chinese winner who was able to cash-in a massive RMB¥360 million (approximately US$52 million) jackpot prize in 2009 from the China Welfare Double-Color Ball Lottery.
- In third-place comes South Korean Lotto 6/45 winner who raked in a KR₩40.72 billion (approximately US$32.9 million) prize in April 2003. This prize spurred so much spending on lottery tickets that officials cut the jackpot cap in half.
While you may have to travel to the far east to participate in these specific lotteries, theLotter offers several exciting Asian lotteries that also offer exciting multi-million jackpots! Japan’s Loto 7 has a jackpot that can grow to JP¥1.25 billion (approximately US$11.2 million) and the Philippines Ultra Lotto 6/58 has an impressive record of ₱1.18 billion (approximately US$33.6 million) won in October 2018.
What Is the Biggest Daily Jackpot Prize?
While most do not think of daily lottery jackpots when they think of big payouts, these lotteries offer some pretty fantastic prizes when you take the great odds and daily chance of winning into consideration.
The biggest daily lottery prize offered is the US multi-jurisdictional lottery, Cash4Life. While the top prize is traditionally $1,000 a day for life, players can also choose to take home a lump-sum of $7 million! It may not offer a prize that comes even near to US powerhouses Powerball and Mega Millions, but this lottery holds its own by offering players a chance at winning a multi-million jackpot prize. Every. Single. Day.
Another other notable daily lottery is Italy’s MillionDAY awards a guaranteed $1 million jackpot prize every day.
Which Raffles Have the Biggest Prizes?
They may be the underdog in the lottery industry, but raffles pack a punch with their guaranteed prizes and easy to play format! There are two types of raffles you can participate in: Stand-alone and lottery raffles.
Stand-alone raffles: These usually take place around holidays and offer enormous prize pools. One great example of this is Spanish raffles, including Loteria de Navidad, (also known as the Christmas Raffle), which has a €2.4 billion prize pool – the biggest in the world! The festive raffle gives players a 1:100,000 chance of winning the €4 million top prize, meaning 172 participants will walk away as multi-millionaires.
Lottery raffles: These are played alongside lottery draws and usually have slightly smaller prizes than stand-alone raffles due to their frequency. Here is a list of the biggest lottery raffles you can participate in when you play online:
- Spain EuroMillions: El Millón – €1 million – One winner – Every draw. This is the biggest lottery raffle prize in the world.
- Canada Lotto 6/49: Guaranteed Prize Draw – CA$1 million – One winner – Every draw
- Austria EuroMillions: Österreich Bonus: €100,000 – One winner – Every draw.
- France Loto: €20,000 – 10 winners – Every draw.
The Biggest Jackpot in the World Can Still Be Won!
While the jackpots we listed may be the biggest jackpots in the world right now, records can always be broken! If you want a chance at breaking one yourself, buy lottery tickets online now.
