Fortune has once again smiled on Spain in the latest draw of the European lottery Euromillones, held on Tuesday, October 7. Several substantial cash prizes found their winners across the country, reaffirming the reputation of Spaniards as some of the luckiest participants in this popular pan-European lottery.
Two tickets, each awarding their owners a significant sum of €241,122.59, were purchased in Valladolid and Vigo (Pontevedra province). These lucky winners matched the combination in the third prize category. However, the night’s main Spanish prize, the special “El Millón” draw with its guaranteed one million euros, went to the small Andalusian municipality of Ardales in the province of Málaga. This picturesque location, home to about 2,500 residents and known as the gateway to the famous tourist trail Caminito del Rey, can now boast its own lottery millionaire.
The winning number combination that decided the outcome of Tuesday’s draw was as follows. Main numbers: 24, 39, 42, 43, 48. ‘Stars’: 05 and 08. The lucky “El Millón” code that made one Ardales resident a millionaire was TPF56902.
The Euromillones lottery has a rich history. Its first draw took place in Paris on February 13, 2004, as a result of collaboration between the national lottery operators of three countries: Spain, France, and the United Kingdom. The idea was to create a game with a huge, shared jackpot across multiple nations. Over time, the initiative gained popularity, and other countries joined in. Today, nine countries participate in Euromillones: Austria, Belgium, the United Kingdom, Ireland, Spain, Luxembourg, Portugal, France, and Switzerland.
The rules for participation are quite simple. Draws are held twice a week, on Tuesdays and Fridays at 21:00 Spanish time. For a standard ticket, players select 5 main numbers from a range of 1 to 50, as well as 2 additional numbers, known as “stars,” from 1 to 12. To win the jackpot, the entire combination must be matched, but there are a total of 13 prize categories, giving players a chance to win even by matching just two numbers.
The minimum guaranteed jackpot is 17 million euros. If there is no winner in the top category for a draw, the prize rolls over to the next draw and continues to grow until it reaches the set limit. In 2024, the maximum jackpot cap was raised to 250 million euros. Additionally, a special game called “El Millón” is held exclusively for participants in Spain. Each ticket is automatically assigned a unique code, and in every draw, one of these codes is guaranteed to win one million euros. This prize is independent of the main number combination, significantly increasing Spanish players’ chances of a big win.
