The game that was once known as Millionaire Raffle but is now called Millionaire Maker has an interesting history, but relatively few people know much about it. The supplementary game was launched on Friday 13th November 2009 as a way of offering an extra prize in every draw to UK EuroMillions players. The French My Million game, where one player wins €1 million for matching a code drawn on the night, is similar to Millionaire Maker.
The fun isn’t limited to one prize per draw, as special events in which multiple players can win £1 million have taken place in the last five years. In 2011, Millionaires’ Month was launched to celebrate the holiday season. From Friday 25th November to Friday 23rd December, 50 lucky players snapped up £1 million each.
When the London 2012 Olympics started in July, lottery officials decided that they’d like to set some records of their own and so Millionaire Maker launched the first 100 Millionaires promotion. The goal was to create 100 UK millionaires on Friday 27th July - the day the opening ceremony for the Olympics was held. The previous world record for the biggest number of millionaires created in just one draw was smashed as 97 out of the 100 £1 million prizes were claimed.
On Friday 26th July 2013, the National Lottery attempted to break its own record by offering yet another 100 Millionaire Maker prizes in a single draw. While ticket sales soared in response to the promotion, just 92 of the 100 prizes were claimed before the 180-day deadline. Still, that’s an incredibly good effort!
In March 2014, Camelot requested permission to make changes to their current licence, including altering the name of Millionaire Raffle to Millionaire Maker. They also asked for the ability to offer non-cash prizes to UK EuroMillions players. The National Lottery Commission, which oversees licensing and regulation of the National Lottery, approved these changes and Millionaire Maker and Mega Friday were born.
It’s an exciting time for EuroMillions - not only will there be more cash prizes up for grabs during the last Friday draw of the month, there will also be luxurious non-cash prizes for the lucky winners. If you win a Millionaire Maker prize in a Mega Friday draw, you won’t have to set some of your winnings aside to buy that sports car or take that once-in-a-lifetime holiday - that will be sorted for you! Having a regularly-scheduled event with such wonderful prizes on offer is sure to pique the interest of players across the country.
If this has made you even more excited for tomorrow’s Mega Friday draw, then make sure that you pick up your tickets online or in person from an authorised retailer before sales close at 7.30pm GMT (8.30pm CET) on Friday. Good luck!
