Euromillions History

Published: Written by: Anna Dobson

Euromillions History

History of the Euromillions

History of the Lottery

The first lottery can be traced as far back as 200 B.C during the Han Dynasty, which is now China. The lottery game, Keno, supposedly still played in modern day casinos, was used to finance governmental projects including none other than the Great Wall of China. Similarly, references to lotteries have also been found in numerous ancient texts from many other civilizations including the Celtic Era and Ancient Greece. However, the first known European lotteries took place during the Roman Empire, mainly for amusement purposes amongst the nobility. The earliest records of the sale of tickets for a lottery date back to the reign of Roman Emperor Cesar Augustus who used the money raised for repairs in the City of Rome.

antique lottery scroll

English lottery scroll dated 1566

The Modern Lottery

Today the lottery is played across the world, often run by the government of the respective country, with 44 states and territories currently featuring a government-operated lottery. In addition, the internet has revolutionised the way modern lotteries are run with an increasing number of players participating in lottery games through online lottery agencies, similar to Comprising a safe, reliable and convenient way to play, online lottery sites allow players to participate in any lottery, from anywhere in the world.

Beginning of the Euromillions

The Euromillions international lottery was launched in 2004 with the first Euromillions draw held on Friday the 13th of February. It initially featured 3 participating countries. Spain, France and the United Kingdom however, by October that same year a further six countries had joined. Today, nine European countries are officially hosting the Euromillions including Austria, Belgium, France, Ireland, Luxembourg, Portugal, Spain, Switzerland and the United Kingdom. Thanks to online Euromillions lottery agencies, such as, lottery hopefuls across the world, as well as residents in the participating countries, can play Euromillions. In addition, the huge jackpot prizes, regularly exceeding 100 million euro, have rapidly converted Euromillions into the largest and most popular lottery game in Europe.

Anna Dobson