There are ten major lottery games worth knowing: the two US giants (Powerball and Mega Millions), Europe's continent-wide EuroMillions, national flagships like Italy's SuperEnalotto and France Loto, Spain's family of draws (La Primitiva, BonoLoto and El Gordo de la Primitiva), Australia's Oz Lotto and Brazil's LotoFácil. They differ enormously — in ticket price (from €0.50 to $5), in draw frequency (weekly to daily) and in jackpot scale (from single-digit millions to billions). The table below puts every game side by side.
All lottery games at a glance
| Game | Format | Ticket | Draw nights | Record jackpot | Jackpot odds |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| US Powerball | 5 of 69 + 1 of 26 | $2 | Mon, Wed, Sat | $2.04B (2022) | 1 in 292,201,338 |
| Mega Millions | 5 of 70 + 1 of 24 | $5 | Tue, Fri | $1.602B (2023) | 1 in 290,472,336 |
| EuroMillions | 5 of 50 + 2 of 12 | €2.50 | Tue, Fri | €250M (cap) | 1 in 139,838,160 |
| SuperEnalotto | 6 of 90 | €1 | Tue, Thu, Fri, Sat | €371M (2023, shared) | 1 in 622,614,630 |
| Oz Lotto | 7 of 47 | AU$1.50 | Tue | AU$111.9M (2012) | 1 in 62,891,499 |
| La Primitiva | 6 of 49 + reintegro | €1 | Mon, Thu, Sat | €101.7M (2015) | 1 in 13,983,816 |
| France Loto | 5 of 49 + 1 of 10 | €2.20 | Mon, Wed, Sat | €30M (2021) | 1 in 19,068,840 |
| BonoLoto | 6 of 49 | €0.50 | Daily | €10.6M (2024) | 1 in 13,983,816 |
| El Gordo de la Primitiva | 5 of 54 + 1 of 10 | €1.50 | Sun | €33M (2011) | 1 in 31,625,100 |
| LotoFácil | 15 of 25 | R$3 | Mon-Sat | Modest, frequent wins | 1 in 3,268,760 |
The US lottery games: built for record jackpots
Powerball and Mega Millions are the games behind every billion-dollar headline. Both are multi-state games played across most of the US, both have no jackpot cap, and both advertise 30-year annuity values, which inflates the headline against Europe's lump-sum games. They are also the longest odds on the list — around 1 in 290-292 million — the price of jackpots that can snowball past $2 billion. Mega Millions' 2025 relaunch made it the premium ticket at $5 with a built-in prize multiplier, while Powerball stays the classic $2 play with three draws a week.
The European games: lump sums and friendlier odds
Europe's flagship is EuroMillions, drawn for nine countries with jackpots capped at €250 million, paid as a tax-free lump sum in most participating countries. Italy's SuperEnalotto is its opposite in one respect — the hardest jackpot on this list at 1 in 622.6 million, but with no cap, which is how it reached €371 million. France Loto and Spain's La Primitiva are cheaper national games with odds in the tens of millions, and BonoLoto is the value play: a €0.50 line and a draw every single day. El Gordo de la Primitiva — the Sunday game, not to be confused with Spain's Christmas raffle — rounds out the Spanish family.
The rest of the world: Oz Lotto and LotoFácil
Australia's Oz Lotto is a Tuesday-night 7-of-47 game whose jackpot odds (1 in 62.9 million) sit comfortably between Europe's national games and the US giants. Brazil's LotoFácil is the outlier in the whole list: you pick 15 numbers from 25, the jackpot odds are just 1 in 3.3 million — best on this page by a factor of four — and it draws six nights a week. The trade-off is prize size: LotoFácil pays frequent, modest jackpots rather than headline fortunes.
How to choose which lottery game to play
The table is really a menu of trade-offs. Chasing the biggest possible prize? Powerball and Mega Millions, accepting the longest odds. Best realistic chance of a jackpot? LotoFácil, BonoLoto and La Primitiva are hundreds of times easier to win, for smaller sums. Middle ground? EuroMillions and Oz Lotto pair serious jackpots with meaningfully shorter odds than the US pair, and EuroMillions pays its jackpot tax-free as a lump sum in most countries. We compare the value question in depth — including cost per line against odds — in our guide to lottery odds compared, and profile the biggest games individually in the most popular world lotteries.
Add-ons and side games worth knowing
Most of these games sell optional extras alongside the main line, and they change the value calculation more than casual players realise. Powerball's Power Play (an extra $1) multiplies non-jackpot prizes up to 10×, and its Double Play re-enters your numbers in a second drawing in participating states; Mega Millions builds its 2×-10× multiplier into every $5 ticket since 2025. In Europe the pattern is raffles rather than multipliers: France's My Million draw guarantees a €1 million winner alongside every EuroMillions draw, the UK's Millionaire Maker does the same with ticket codes, France Loto tickets include a raffle, and Spain's games carry the Joker side bet. None of these change your jackpot odds — they widen the menu of secondary prizes, which is where most of a lottery's winners actually live.
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Frequently asked questions
What is the biggest lottery game in the world?
By record jackpot, US Powerball — its $2.04 billion prize in November 2022 is the largest lottery jackpot ever. By players and reach, EuroMillions spans nine European countries, and Mega Millions rivals Powerball across the US.
Which lottery game has the best odds of winning the jackpot?
Among major games, Brazil's LotoFácil at about 1 in 3.3 million — hundreds of times better than Powerball's 1 in 292 million. Spain's BonoLoto and La Primitiva follow at about 1 in 14 million.
What is the cheapest lottery ticket among the big games?
BonoLoto, at €0.50 per line (minimum ticket €1). SuperEnalotto and La Primitiva cost €1 per line, while the most expensive standard line is Mega Millions at $5 — which now includes its built-in prize multiplier.
Can I play these lottery games from another country?
Yes. Lottery messenger services buy official tickets on your behalf inside the game's home country and scan them to your account, so you can play the US, European, Australian and Brazilian games from almost anywhere.