Someone in Ireland Is Guaranteed to Win €1M on 10th January
One EuroMillions player is guaranteed to become a millionaire on Friday 10th January in the first €1 million Ireland Only Raffle of 2020. The special raffles have become a regular fixture in the EuroMillions calendar since the first one in 2017 but never before has one been held so soon after Christmas.
Guaranteed €1 Million Raffle Prize
An Ireland Only Raffle takes place alongside every EuroMillions draw. Ten winning raffle codes are selected in every standard draw and every player who has a matching code on their EuroMillions ticket wins €5,000.
In special €1 million raffles, like the one set to take place on Friday, an extra €1 million is given away. That means there will be the usual 10 winners of €5,000 and then one of those players will win the €1 million prize. These special raffles are not scheduled to take place on set dates but are usually announced a few days or weeks ahead of time by the Irish National Lottery.
There were four €1 million raffles each in 2017 and 2018 and then three in 2019. This is the first time that a special raffle has been held in January, so 2020 has gotten off to a good start for EuroMillions players in Ireland.
How to Enter
All you need to do to play the Ireland Only Raffle is buy an entry for the EuroMillions draw on Friday 10th January. You will get one raffle code for every line of EuroMillions numbers you buy, so the more entries you purchase the better your chances of winning the raffle.
Ten raffle codes will be randomly selected to win €5,000 on the night of the draw and then one of those winning codes will then be picked to win an additional €1 million. That means the winner of the big prize will walk away with €1,005,000.
Remember to check your tickets after the draw. You’ll be able to find all the winning raffle codes on the EuroMillions Results page as soon as they have been confirmed.
Previous €1M Raffle Winners
The first €1 million Ireland Only Raffle took place on 17th February 2017 and this Friday’s will be the 12th one to be held. Although most winners opt to stay anonymous after claiming their prize, some have spoken about what it feels like to win €1 million.
17th February 2017
The winner of that first ever raffle bought his ticket from a Post Office in Newtowngore, Co. Leitrim, but as the million-euro raffle was so new he didn’t realise he had won so much money at first. “I was absolutely over the moon with the €5,000 prize,” he said. “The next day, I went into the shop to see how I could claim my prize money when all of a sudden the shopkeeper took me to one side. You’ve won one million and five thousand euro they said. I was stunned.”
16th March 2018
There were three other draws in 2017 and the first of 2018 took place on 16th March. The winner of that raffle planned to use the money to spend six months of each year in the Caribbean. Like the first winner in 2017, this unnamed ticket holder, who was from Dundrum, Co. Dublin, didn’t realise that he had won until he took his ticket to be checked at a shop.
“I hadn’t a notion that I’d won,” he said. “One thing is for sure, I will be enjoying time in a sunnier climate. I won’t be leaving for good but I’ll be able to spend at least six months of the year abroad. I definitely won’t miss the Irish winters. I have always dreamed of living on one of the islands in the Caribbean but my actual pension did not stretch that far. The €1 million win means that I can escape Irish winters here and live the dream!”
3rd December 2019
In December 2019 EuroMillions players were, for the first time ever, treated to two €1 million Ireland Only Raffles in the same week. They took place on Tuesday 3rd and Friday 6th December and while the winners of the million-euro prize in the first raffle remained anonymous, it as revealed that they were a family from Dublin.
One of the family members talked about how she had to double-check the winning ticket. “I went back online to check again and saw that I was a raffle winner. I thought it was €5,000 and I was jumping around the house. I called my daughter who was only after walking up the stairs to bed and she checked it. I thought, lovely, I’m going to get a new kitchen out of this. Then she said, ‘Mam, I think you’ve won a million quid.’ I didn’t sleep a wink that night, it’s just amazing to think we won the prize."
7th January 2020
