Lottery jackpot records
This is a collection of notable lottery jackpot records in the United States, Europe and the Philippines, listing the largest prizes/jackpots awarded in various drawings.
El Gordo
Spain's Sorteo Extraordinario de Navidad is generally considered to be the world's largest lottery game, with the largest first prize/jackpot. In 2012, the first prize was €720 million. The total prize pool in 2012 was €2.52 billion. The tickets for this drawing have pre-printed five-digit numbers, with each set of numbers sold multiple times in series. For example, a ticket with the number "00001" was printed 180 times under different series numbers. Moreover, each series is divided into 10 décimos, which are the individual tickets available for purchase. This results in the top prize being split by a very big number of winners usually from different regions of Spain. The 2011 top prize of €720 million was paid out as €4 million to each of the 180 tickets with the number 58268. In 2016, the total prize pool was $2.310 billionUnited States
All lottery winnings are subject to Federal taxation ; many smaller jurisdictions also levy taxes. The IRS requires a minimum withholding of 25% of the prize of any gambling win in excess of $5,000. However, the net for a major prize often is misleading; winners often owe the IRS upon filing a return because the Federal withholding was below the winner's tax obligations. Nonresident U.S. lottery winners have 30% of winnings of at least $600 withheld.While the largest lottery prizes in the early history of U.S. state lotteries were "annuity-only", these lotteries gradually introduced a "cash option" for these games.
All prizes listed below are reported as the pre-withholdings amount, as this is taxable income the player must report on their returns to be subject to taxation. Jackpots and jackpot shares listed below are annuity amounts
For various reasons, an annuitized jackpot can have a higher cash value than a larger annuity with a lower cash value. Examples include the annuity structure of various games: while Mega Millions' and Powerball's annuity option each are 30 annual payments, Mega Millions' annuity payments increase 5 percent yearly, while Powerball increases 4 percent yearly; this makes the Mega Millions' annuity structure somewhat more "inflated".
List of U.S. lottery drawings of $300 million or more with at least one jackpot-winning ticket :
| Rank | Game | Date | Where | Notes | ||||
| 1 | $1,586.4 | $983.5 | 3 | $327.8 | Powerball | Jan. 13, 2016 | CA, FL, TN | World's largest jackpot ; 9th largest cash value per ticket. |
| 2 | $1,537 | $877.8 | 1 | $877.8 | Mega Millions | Oct. 23, 2018 | SC | Largest jackpot for a single ticket; largest cash value for a single ticket. |
| 3 | $768.4 | $477 | 1 | $477 | Powerball | Mar. 27, 2019 | WI | 3rd largest jackpot for a single ticket. Bought in New Berlin, Wisconsin. |
| 4 | $758.7 | $480.5 | 1 | $480.5 | Powerball | Aug. 23, 2017 | MA | 2nd largest jackpot for a single ticket. |
| 5 | $687.8 | $396.2 | 2 | $198.1 | Powerball | Oct. 27, 2018 | IA, NY | |
| 6 | $656 | $474 | 3 | $158 | Mega Millions | Mar. 30, 2012 | IL, KS, MD | |
| 7 | $648 | $347.6 | 2 | $173.8 | Mega Millions | Dec. 17, 2013 | CA, GA | |
| 8 | $590.5 | $370.9 | 1 | $370.9 | Powerball | May 18, 2013 | FL | |
| 9 | $587.5 | $384.7 | 2 | $192.4 | Powerball | Nov. 28, 2012 | AZ, MO | |
| 10 | $564.1 | $381.1 | 3 | $127.0 | Powerball | Feb. 11, 2015 | NC, PR, TX | |
| 11 | $559.7 | $352 | 1 | $352 | Powerball | Jan. 6, 2018 | NH | |
| 12 | $543 | $320.5 | 1 | $320.5 | Mega Millions | July 24, 2018 | CA | |
| 13 | $536 | $378.3 | 1 | $378.3 | Mega Millions | July 8, 2016 | IN | |
| 14 | $533 | $324.6 | 1 | $324.6 | Mega Millions | Mar. 30, 2018 | NJ | |
| 15 | $530 | $345.2 | 1 | $345.2 | Mega Millions | June 7, 2019 | CA | |
| 16 | $487 | $341.7 | 1 | $341.7 | Powerball | July 30, 2016 | NH | |
| 17 | $456.7 | $269.4 | 1 | $269.4 | Powerball | Mar. 17, 2018 | PA | |
| 18 | $451 | $281.9 | 1 | $281.9 | Mega Millions | Jan. 5, 2018 | FL | |
| 19 | $448.4 | $258.2 | 3 | $86.1 | Powerball | Aug. 7, 2013 | MN; NJ | |
| 20 | $447.8 | $279.1 | 1 | $279.1 | Powerball | Jun. 10, 2017 | CA | |
| 21 | $437 | $261.8 | 1 | $261.8 | Mega Millions | Jan. 1, 2019 | NY | |
| 22 | $435.3 | $263.4 | 1 | $263.4 | Powerball | Feb. 22, 2017 | IN | |
| 23 | $429.6 | $284.1 | 1 | $284.1 | Powerball | May 7, 2016 | NJ | |
| 24 | $425.3 | $242.2 | 1 | $242.2 | Powerball | Feb. 19, 2014 | CA | |
| 25 | $420.9 | $254.6 | 1 | $254.6 | Powerball | Nov 26, 2016 | TN | |
| 26 | $414 | $230.9 | 2 | $115.4 | Mega Millions | Mar. 18, 2014 | FL, MD | |
| 27 | $410 | $316.8 | 1 | $316.8 | Mega Millions | June 09, 2020 | AZ | |
| 28 | $399.4 | $223.3 | 1 | $223.3 | Powerball | Sep. 18, 2013 | SC | |
| 29 | $396.9 | $274.6 | 1 | $274.6 | Powerball | Jan. 29, 2020 | FL | |
| 30 | $393 | $247 | 1 | $247 | Mega Millions | Aug. 11, 2017 | IL | |
| 31 | $390 | $233.1 | 2 | $116.5 | Mega Millions | Mar. 6, 2007 | GA, NJ | |
| 32 | $380 | $240 | 2 | $120 | Mega Millions | Jan. 4, 2011 | ID, WA | |
| 33 | $372 | $251.6 | 1 | $251.6 | Mega Millions | Dec. 17, 2019 | OH | |
| 34 | $365 | $177.3 | 1 | $177.3 | Powerball | Feb. 18, 2006 | NE | |
| 35 | $363 | $180 | 2 | $90 | The Big Game | May 9, 2000 | IL, MI | Largest Big Game jackpot before it became Mega Millions |
| 36 | $344.6 | $223.3 | 1 | $223.3 | Powerball | June 1, 2019 | NC | |
| 37 | $340 | $164.4 | 1 | $164.4 | Powerball | Oct. 19, 2005 | OR | |
| 38 | $338.3 | $211.0 | 1 | $211.0 | Powerball | Mar. 23, 2013 | NJ | |
| 39 | $337 | $224.7 | 1 | $224.7 | Powerball | Aug. 15, 2012 | MI | |
| 40 | $336.4 | $210.0 | 1 | $210.0 | Powerball | Feb. 11, 2012 | RI | |
| 41 | $333 | $214 | 2 | $107 | Mega Millions | Aug. 28, 2009 | CA, NY | |
| 42 | $331 | $174 | 3 | $58 | The Big Game | Apr. 16, 2002 | GA, IL, NJ | |
| 43 | $330 | $194.4 | 4 | $48.6 | Mega Millions | Aug. 31, 2007 | MD,NJ,TX,VA | |
| 44 | $326 | $197.5 | 1 | $197.5 | Mega Millions | Nov. 4, 2014 | NY | |
| 45 | $319 | $202.8 | 1 | $202.8 | Mega Millions | Mar. 25, 2011 | NY | |
| 46 | $315.3 | $183 | 1 | $183 | Powerball | May 19, 2018 | NJ | |
| 47 | $315 | $185 | 1 | $185 | Mega Millions | Nov. 15, 2005 | CA | |
| 48 | $314.9 | $170.5 | 1 | $170.5 | Powerball | Dec. 25, 2002 | WV | Won by Jack Whittaker |
| 49 | $314.3 | $146.0 | 1 | $146.0 | Powerball | Aug. 25, 2007 | IN |
Notes:
- MM. The Big Game became The Big Game Mega Millions and then Mega Millions in 2002.
Europe
;Examples of largest jackpots in specific European lotteries
- £170.2 million was the largest prize won by a UK winner in the pan-European EuroMillions in GBP currency, won on 8 October 2019 in the UK.
- €190.0 million is the maximum jackpot in the EuroMillions lottery and it's paid out four times:
| Chronological Nr. | Date | Jackpot in Euro | Winner | Prize in Euro | Prize in Pound | Country |
| 1 | 2012-08-10 | 190,000,000 | 1 | 190,000,000 | 148,700,000 | UK |
| 2 | 2014-10-24 | 190,000,000 | 1 | 190,000,000 | 149,800,000 | Portugal |
| 3 | 2017-10-06 | 190,000,000 | 1 | 190,000,000 | 170,800,000 | Spain |
| 4 | 2019-10-08 | 190,000,000 | 1 | 190,000,000 | 170,200,000 | UK |
- €90.0 million is the maximum jackpot in the Eurojackpot lottery and it's paid out eleven times:
| Chronological Nr. | Date | Jackpot in Euro | Winner | Prize in Euro | Prize in Pound | Country |
| 1 | 2015-05-15 | 90,000,000 | 1 | 90,000,000 | 65,500,000 | Czech Republic |
| 2 | 2016-10-14 | 90,000,000 | 1 | 90,000,000 | 81,000,000 | Germany |
| 3 | 2017-01-06 | 90,000,000 | 5 | 18,000,000 | 15,400,000 | 3 X Germany, Netherlands & Denmark |
| 4 | 2018-02-09 | 90,000,000 | 1 | 90,000,000 | 79,700,000 | Finland |
| 5 | 2018-07-06 | 90,000,000 | 2 | 45,000,000 | 39,800,000 | 2 X Germany |
| 6 | 2018-11-16 | 90,000,000 | 5 | 18,000,000 | 16,000,000 | 2 X Germany, Finland, Spain & Italy |
| 7 | 2019-05-10 | 90,000,000 | 2 | 45,000,000 | 39,500,000 | Germany & Poland |
| 8 | 2019-08-23 | 90,000,000 | 1 | 90,000,000 | 82,400,000 | Finland |
| 9 | 2019-11-22 | 90,000,000 | 3 | 30,000,000 | 25,800,000 | 2 X Germany & Hungary |
| 10 | 2020-02-07 | 90,000,000 | 1 | 90,000,000 | 76,500,000 | Germany |
| 11 | 2020-05-01 | 90,000,000 | 1 | 90,000,000 | 79,000,000 | Germany |
- €209 million was the largest single-ticket jackpot in Italy's SuperEnalotto lottery, won on 13 August 2019.
- €45.4 million was the largest jackpot in Germany's Lotto 6 aus 49, won in December 2007 by three tickets.
- €37.7 million was the largest single-ticket jackpot in the German Lotto 6 aus 49, won on 7 October 2006.
- SEK 238 million is the largest single ticket jackpot of Svenska Spel Lotto Drömvinsten
- £66.1 million was the largest jackpot in the United Kingdom's Lotto, won on 9 January 2016 by two tickets.
- CHF 48.6 million was the largest jackpot in Switzerland's Swiss Lotto, won on 23 August 2014.
- £35.1 million was the largest winner on the UK Lotto game in April 2016.
- €38.4 million was the largest jackpot in the Netherlands draw of the Staatsloterij in May 2013.
- €30 million was the largest jackpot in France's SuperLoto, won in May 2006 by two tickets.
- €24 million was the largest single-ticket jackpot in the French SuperLotto, won on 6 June 2011.
- €22,5 million was the biggest lotto win in Hungary was on Eurojackpot on 10th February 2017. This 7 billion HUF worth grand prize beat a 5 billion record set up in 2003.
- SEK 215 million was the largest single-ticket jackpot in Sweden's Lotto of Svenska Spel, won on 27 March 2010.
- €19 million was the largest jackpot and largest single-ticket jackpot in Ireland's Lotto, won on 28 June 2008 by a group of sixteen colleagues at a quarry and concrete plant in County Carlow.
- €12.2 million was the largest jackpot in Finland's Lotto of Veikkaus, won in October 2012 by one ticket.
- €13 million was the largest jackpot in Belgium's Loterie Nationale/Nationale Loterij, won in December 2013 by one ticket.
- €4.32 million was the largest jackpot in Russia's Gosloto 6 to 45, won in February 2016 by one 1800-roubles ticket. This is the largest jackpot in Russia.
Philippines
On October 14, 2018, two bettors from Albay and Eastern Samar split the ₱1,180,622,508 jackpot for Ultra Lotto 6/58, the largest lottery won in Philippine history.