An unknown individual has surprised many in the Czech Republic after the country’s top betting company, SAZKA, announced that the lucky winner of a Europe-wide lottery’s billion-crown jackpot was Czech. To some people, his luck is two-fold because the win came before the approval of new legislation taxing lottery winners.
The player won the Eurojackpot lottery online and grabbed the prime prize of €55 million after correctly matching all the numbers drawn on the actual date. It is the second-largest lottery prize ever won in the country’s history, and the lucky ticket holder has already contacted officials about claiming their money.
The winning numbers were 5, 9, 20, 44, and 48, with Euro numbers 2 and 10. The Eurojackpot page has prizes exceeding 820,000, which are claimed away across 12 different categories.
Two of the tickets that matched all five main numbers plus one of the Euros were sold in Germany and Hungary, winning over €1 million each. However, the biggest celebrations occurred in the Czech Republic when only one online player landed a gigantic prize worth CZK 1.4 billion.
What Do We Know About The Czech Winner?
The winner had 365 days to contact Czech lottery operator Sazka. Still, the director of communications, Václav Friedmann, confirmed that they had already spoken to the player and that more talks were planned for a future date.
Friedmann revealed that the winner was a man who had played from the comfort of his own home. Still, his identity will remain private unless he wants more information to be disclosed in the coming weeks. Czech Republic’s betting agency SAZKA had 60 days to pay the winnings. Still, they said the funds were all ready to be transferred. The winner will also be able to receive as much psychological support and financial advice as he wants.
A Brief History About The Eurojackpot
It is the second time Eurojackpot’s top prize has been won in the Czech Republic, following a €90 million payout in 2015. According to Friedman, the 2015 winner still holds the gold spot. Friedman went ahead to say that when the 2015 winner came forward to negotiate the details of his win, he was nervous and in a hurry to catch the train.
The 2015 win marked the first time that Eurojackpot had reached its jackpot cap. The latest result ended a run of four rollovers; the top prize grew since German and Polish players split €90 million at one time. The jackpot will now go back down to €10 million for the next draw. You can play from authorized retailers in any of the 18 participating countries or take part online.
It is the fairy tale many European wish for, and this time it happened in the Czech Republic.
An unnamed man won the Eurojackpot lottery, immediately earning some EUR 55.2 million, translated as CZK 1.4 billion, a considerable sum that even most successful business owners will hardly imagine reaching in their lifetimes.
Václav Friedmann, a top official of the Czech Republic’s betting agency SAZKA, which pays out the winnings in the country, says his company is aware of the lucky man and that he confirmed and claimed his winnings.
Usually, when winning very high jackpots, the individual also has the right to a financial adviser and a psychologist.
The man placed the bet from an online account, which means there is little risk of the winner realizing their luck when it is too late.
to Czech Republic’s betting agency SAZKA, “When our clients are placing bets online, we already know their details – their details including their full name and birth certificate number. We concluded with the winner that we would look into all the details together in a few days. The unnamed man said we should be spare him some time to think about everything and normalize the reality that he is already a billionaire.”
The current deadline for claiming one’s prize extends to one year from the actual victory day, but it used to be only 32 days.
In 2015, a Eurojackpot winner from Czech in the Pardubice Region nearly missed out by waiting until only four days ahead of the deadline day before he made his claim. But he finally entered a Prague SAZKA office with a rucksack, surprisingly taking CZK 250,000 in cash, as well as providing several bank accounts which the CZK 2.5 billion crowns he had won would be sent.
The Eurojackpot is a European lottery played across nations, which was initially launched in March 2012. It is a multinational game active in 18 European states, including Germany, Norway, Spain, Italy, and Poland. The Czech Republic joined in 2014 and has since had two winners.
The Eurojackpot is a game of chance that can be addictive. To avoid falling into gambling-related issues, set a gambling budget and stick to it. Do not spend more than you are willing to lose.
