Italian lotto serves up record jackpot prize the equivalent of billions of rands

The jackpot prize in Italy’s SuperEnalotto has reached a whopping €251.8 million.

This is the highest lottery jackpot in Europe ever which has grabbed headline attention around the world.

The Italian lotto, indeed, has global appeal – and has reportedly even attracted the interest of international celebrities such as Elizabeth Hurley, Paris Hilton, Madonna and George Clooney. They have each entered the draw at one time or another.

South Africans could be flabbergasted when doing the math. €251 million-plus stacks up to several billions in the humble South African rand.

But when last was the SuperEnalotto jackpot at its highest and what are some of the other sums that have come somewhat close to touching record numbers?

In August 2019, The SuperEnalotto jackpot got up to €209 million. That was the Italian lotto’s highest main prize until this latest sum topped it by €40 million-plus three years later. That 2019 jackpot was eventually won after more than 12 months of rollovers. Of course, it’s the rollovers that make jackpot sums grow, grow and grow.

The winning ticket was bought at a bar in Lodi, near Milan, Italy. The humble establishment quickly became a hub of activity after it was revealed where the triumphant ticket was purchased.

“There was a constant flow today, people were coming in and asking for a ticket at random. And I printed the winning ticket, I printed it,” said bar manager Guglielmo Poggi at the time.

Prior to that, there was October 2010’s jackpot win of €177 million. This was won by a syndicate that comprised 70 people. Each of the 70 pocketed around €2.5 million.

In the same month, six years later, the jackpot prize hit €164 million. That went to a single winner. In August 2019 there was a €148 million win and in February 2021 €139 million took the proverbial cake.

There are big sums available to win in the tiers below the jackpot, too. In euros or rands, these can be large amounts. It’s worth noting that Madonna bagged a lower-tier prize of €120,000 back in the day. The cosmopolitan popstar generously donated her winnings to education relief in Malawi, Africa.

The SuperEnalotto has produced record jackpot wins to compete with other lotteries around the world over the years. It has kept pace with the EuroMillions and US Millions – as well as the Irish Lotto, Spanish lottery, Brazil’s Quina and others.

The chances of winning the Italian lottery jackpot are approximately one in 622 million. The odds of winning a prize in one tier down from the jackpot are about one in 103 million. The odds of winning any prize at all in the SuperEnalotto are around one in 20.

The draw takes place each Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday – that’s a chance to win at the start, in the middle and towards the end of the week. Three draws per week is also more frequent than several other lotteries that happen twice, or perhaps once, in a seven-days period.