Germany’s lottery pool reaches record €101 million before Saturday draw

By Ahmet Taş | Wise News Press

BERLIN, GERMANY — Germany’s Lotto 6aus49 prize pool has reached a record €101 million after more than three months without a top-prize winner, ahead of the drawing scheduled for Saturday, July 25.

The accumulated amount is the largest recorded in more than 70 years of lottery history in Germany. However, the full €101 million cannot be paid to a single winner because the maximum payout in the highest prize category is limited to €50 million.

According to DW Türkçe, repeated drawings without a ticket matching all six numbers and the correct Super Number allowed the jackpot to reach its legal ceiling. Money allocated to the top prize then continued to accumulate separately.

How the €101 million pool accumulated

Players must correctly match six numbers selected from 1 to 49 and the additional Super Number to win the Lotto 6aus49 jackpot.

No player has met all of those requirements for more than three months. As a result, the jackpot increased over successive Wednesday and Saturday drawings until it reached the maximum payable amount of €50 million.

Once that limit was reached, additional money allocated to the highest prize category could no longer be added directly to the jackpot available to a winner. Instead, the excess funds continued to accumulate in a separate overflow pool.

The combination of the €50 million payable jackpot and approximately €51 million in additional funds brought the total accumulated amount to €101 million before Saturday’s drawing.

Jan Riedesel, head of draw coordination at Saarland lottery operator Saartoto, described the total as unprecedented in Germany’s lottery history.

“For the first time in more than 70 years of lottery history in Germany, such a high amount has accumulated,” Riedesel said.

He added that the jackpot had remained at the €50 million limit for 18 consecutive drawings.

Maximum payout remains €50 million

Despite the record €101 million figure, the holder of a single winning ticket cannot receive the entire amount.

Lotto 6aus49 rules cap the payout in the highest prize category at €50 million. A player who correctly matches all six numbers and the Super Number on Saturday can therefore receive no more than €50 million.

If more than one ticket wins the first prize, the available jackpot will be divided among the winning tickets under the lottery’s standard distribution rules.

The remaining funds are not included in Saturday’s maximum payout. The €101 million figure represents the total money accumulated for the highest prize category, including the amount held outside the payable jackpot because of the legal ceiling.

What happens to the excess funds

The approximately €51 million accumulated above the jackpot limit will remain in the lottery system.

If the €50 million jackpot is won on Saturday, the excess amount will be transferred to the top-prize fund for the next Lotto 6aus49 drawing, scheduled for Wednesday, July 29.

This means the following drawing could also begin with a jackpot of approximately €50 million. Germany could therefore have two consecutive drawings offering prizes close to the maximum permitted amount.

If no ticket wins the first prize on Saturday, the payable jackpot will remain at €50 million. New money allocated to the first prize will continue to enter the overflow pool until a player correctly matches all six numbers and the Super Number.

The system allows undistributed prize money to remain available for future drawings while preventing a single Lotto 6aus49 payout from exceeding the established maximum.

Saturday drawing scheduled for July 25

The record Lotto 6aus49 drawing is scheduled for Saturday, July 25, 2026.

Lotto 6aus49 drawings take place twice a week in Germany, on Wednesdays and Saturdays. Players select six numbers from a field of 49, while the Super Number is determined from an additional digit associated with the lottery ticket.

A ticket must contain all six winning numbers and the correct Super Number to qualify for the highest prize category.

The official probability of winning the jackpot is 1 in 139,838,160. Matching the six main numbers without the correct Super Number places a player in the second prize category.

The extremely low probability of winning the first prize helps explain why the jackpot can remain unclaimed over a long series of drawings.

Previous record was set in 2024

The previous Lotto 6aus49 record was established at the beginning of 2024, when the top prize reached approximately €48.6 million.

A player from Bavaria won €48,580,715 after correctly matching all six numbers and the Super Number in the January 3, 2024 drawing.

Saturday’s €50 million jackpot therefore has the potential to establish a new record for the largest Lotto 6aus49 prize paid to a single ticket holder in Germany.

The wider €101 million accumulated pool has already set a separate record, regardless of whether the first prize is claimed during Saturday’s drawing.

Lottery officials have emphasized that the two figures should not be confused. The €101 million represents the combined amount accumulated in connection with the highest prize, while €50 million is the maximum currently available to a winner.

Next jackpot depends on Saturday’s result

The size and structure of the Wednesday, July 29 jackpot will depend on the outcome of Saturday’s drawing.

If a player wins the €50 million first prize, the accumulated overflow will be used to create the next jackpot. Based on the current amount, that prize could again be close to €50 million.

If there is no first-prize winner, the existing €50 million jackpot will continue into the next drawing and the additional overflow will keep growing.

Saturday’s result will therefore determine whether Germany sees one record payment followed by another major jackpot, or whether the unprecedented accumulation continues for another round.

Participation in German lottery games is restricted to people aged 18 and older. Lottery operators also warn that gambling carries a risk of addiction and advise players to participate responsibly.

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