For some, it's pure gamble and even damnable.

For many others, it is the ultimate opportunity to be able to fulfill their hardly realizable dreams: lotteries like the game 6 out of 49. This Wednesday, at least, the probability of a main prize will increase at least a little.

Even if not a single player has typed six correct numbers plus a super number, the jackpot of 45 million euros goes to the players in the 15th Wednesday draw of the year.

Because this highest possible lottery jackpot was not cracked on Saturday.

Now the sum of millions will be distributed in any case and would then benefit the next prize category.

Kerstin Papon

Editor in Business.

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For some, it sounds like déjà vu, and indeed: the last compulsory distribution only took place at the beginning of the year.

On January 19, 2022, prize category 1 of the lottery game 6 out of 49 actually remained vacant.

The accumulated 45 million euros therefore fell to the next prize category.

Here, six players were correct with their six numbers.

They had to share the prize money and each received 7.5 million euros.

The amount went twice to Baden-Württemberg and once each to Bavaria, Brandenburg, Hesse and North Rhine-Westphalia.

Forced distribution rare

The current rule for the compulsory payout of the jackpot has been in place for a good year and a half after a change in the winnings plan in September 2020. Previously, a payout was made if the jackpot was not cracked in twelve consecutive draws.

He had to be played in the 13th draw.

However, forced distributions are rare.

After around 60 years, the first came on May 14, 2016. A player from North Rhine-Westphalia won 37.1 million with six correct ones.

The highest jackpot in the game 6 out of 49 went to three players from Schleswig-Holstein, North Rhine-Westphalia and Thuringia on December 5, 2007, who shared 45.4 million euros.

Nobody should be counting on their lottery luck, but it may be getting closer for some.

Because in the case of six correct ones, the chance of winning is one in 15.5 million instead of one in around 140 million for the "super six".

This shows that both events are extremely unlikely.

Still, there are regular winners.

In 2021, 181 people nationwide became lottery millionaires, according to the German Lotto and Totoblock and the 16 state lottery companies.

7.9 billion euros were spent.

The most popular with a stake of 4 billion euros: Lotto 6 out of 49. On average, a good 7 million people in Germany regularly play Lotto and Co.

If prize category 2 also remained empty, the jackpot would first go to the next level, i.e. five correct numbers plus a super number.

The probability of winning here is one in about 542,000. However, this prize class 3 is usually shared by a number of lottery players, with a theoretical winnings rate of 12,135.40 euros.

Last Wednesday, for example, 52 tipsters each received around 11,801 euros.

On March 30th, there were 163 winners who only received a below-average 3407.60 euros.

In this Wednesday drawing, five winning numbers formed a line through the square playing field.

Patterns or low numbers, which stand for birthdays, for example, often speak for low odds because many people type in this way.

With the change in the 2020 lottery rules, the game fee was also increased from 1 to 1.20 euros per field.

The processing fee per note ranges from 20 cents to 1 euro, depending on the federal state.

48 cents are paid out as a profit for each euro wagered.

According to the providers, 20 cents are spent on culture, monument preservation, sport, social or environmental purposes, and 16 cents each are for the lottery tax and for personnel, material and advertising expenses plus commissions.

It is a lucrative business for the companies and the state.