With dozens of large awards awarded since the beginning of the game, Portugal continues to stand out among the most ‘lucky’ countries in Euromillions. To date, 77 Portuguese have won the first prize, officially becoming millionaires.
There are three districts still without winners
The distribution of these awards, however, is not uniform throughout the national territory. There are still three districts where the largest prize of EuroMillions has never come out. Two of them are located in Alentejo, Beja and Évora, and the third is Guarda, in the Centro region.
Fourth place in the European ranking
Despite the absence of winners in these districts, Portugal occupies fourth place on the European list of the countries with the most main prizes awarded. Only the United Kingdom, France and Spain have more winners.
Luxembourg and Switzerland among the least awarded
At the other end of the table are countries like Luxembourg, Belgium, Austria, Ireland and Switzerland, which have recorded much less winners of the first prize since the creation of Euromillions in 2004.
According to the Luxembourg portal Virgule, “it is no secret that the poorest countries are the most spending on gambling.” This can be one of the explanations for the high number of Portuguese awarded over the years.
Betting more than 16 billion in Portugal
Since the game arrived in Portugal, the Portuguese have bet more than 16 billion euros in Euromillions’ bulletins, according to the Spanish newspaper As. On the other hand, the awarded prizes are around 8 billion euros, according to the latest data.
More bets, more hypotheses
The high volume of bets can justify the recurring presence of Portuguese among the great winners. In this lucky game, those who play the most tends to have more chances of winning.
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2024 is a record year in Luxembourg
Luxembourg, for example, even though with fewer population, has watched significant growth in bets. Quoted by the same source, the director of that country’s National Lottery, Léon Losch, revealed that 2024 has already broken records.
BROWN REVENUE Grow 18.2%
According to Losch, “the year 2024 marks a new record for the National Lottery, with exceptional gross revenues of 90.9 million euros”, which represents a growth of 18.2% compared to 2023, which had already been a historic year.
In addition to the growth in bets, the prizes awarded in Luxembourg are increasing. In 2024 alone, the Grand Duchy players already raised more than 178 million euros in awards.
Luxembourg state recipes from games like sports bets and lottery video machines have also fired. In 2024, they reached 36.6 million euros, with a growth of 51.5% over the previous year.
Change in the profile of gamblers
These numbers show that even in the richest countries, adherence to luck games is increasing, contrary to what would be expected. The difference between rich and poor countries in players’ behavior is overwhelming.
Portugal keeps the habit of betting
Nevertheless, the Portuguese reality remains peculiar: it is betting a lot and, proportionally, more awards are gaining than in other countries. The combination of enthusiasm, hope and habit can explain the phenomenon, according to.
Luck, as always, is just part of the equation. But in Portugal, at least when it comes to EuroMillions, it seems to have been generous.
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