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French Loto Turns 50 With 5 Million Players Per Draw, €30 Million Record

Fresh FDJ data put participation at 5 million per draw with a 54.35% payout to winners.

Overview

  • Marking its 50th year, the national lottery run by FDJ United draws about 5 million participants per twice‑weekly draw and returns 54.35% of stakes as prizes.
  • The largest jackpot remains €30 million, won on December 4, 2021 by a player in Ille‑et‑Vilaine in Brittany.
  • Players select six numbers plus a separate lucky number, creating 19,068,840 possible combinations and roughly a one‑in‑19‑million chance to win the full pot.
  • More than 700 people have become millionaires through the game, and winners of €1 million or more can opt into five years of support from the operator.
  • Born from a 1975 government decree, the game struggled at its 1976 launch before advertising and a national rollout helped validated tickets surge to about 4 million by May 1977.