SuperEnalotto History

Enalotto

Enalotto was originally created as a football pools-style 1X2 game, where the results were based on the first number drawn from each Lotto city wheel in alphabetical order, plus the second numbers from the Naples and Rome wheels. Players would need to mark ‘1’, ‘X’ or ‘2’ in each of the 12 ordered boxes to enter the draw, depending on the numbers they expected to be drawn.

‘1’ earned a point if the number drawn was between 1 and 30, ‘X’ would earn a point if the number was between 31 and 60, and ‘2’ earned a point if the number drawn was between 61 and 90. Players won prizes for entries that totalled 10, 11 or 12 points.

Transition into SuperEnalotto

Sisal acquired Enalotto in 1996, with the decision made to change its format to boost public interest and reverse diminishing sales. The new SuperEnalotto game required players to select six numbers from a range of 1 to 90. Draws still used numbers from Lotto, selected in a specific order from the city wheels of Bari, Florence, Milan, Naples, Palermo and Rome, with Venice providing the Jolly number. If any number appeared more than once, the next number drawn from that city wheel was used to create a line of six unique numbers.

• 3^rd December 1997

  The First SuperEnalotto Draw

  The numbers drawn were 20, 36, 39, 41, 72 and 76 with Jolly 88. There was no jackpot winner in the first draw.

  Two months after the launch, SuperEnalotto was heralded a success, sales up 1,000%, reaching 50 million entries per draw as people queued at retailers for a chance to win the 12 billion Lire jackpots.

• 17^th January 1998

  The First SuperEnalotto Jackpot Winner

  SuperEnalotto’s first jackpot winner claimed an 11.8 billion Lire prize after matching all six main numbers on Saturday 17^th January 1998. The player bought their ticket in Poncarale, Brescia.

• 2^nd January 2002

  First Draw Using the Euro Currency

  The first draw to have prizes paid in Euro was Wednesday 2^nd January 2002, following the national distribution of Euro notes and coins in Italy the day before. The cost to play SuperEnalotto changed from 1,936 Lire to €1 (based on buying the required minimum of two entries).

  From the time Italy had adopted the Euro as its official currency up until 2002, Sisal had been advertising both Lire and Euro amounts to help players become accustomed to the new currency. SuperEnalotto changed its primary advertised currency from Lire to Euro in December 2000, with the first draw displaying Euro prize amounts on Wednesday 13^th December 2000.

• 28^th March 2006

  Introduction of the SuperStar

  In an effort to create more prize winners, Sisal introduced the SuperStar, a supplementary number that would give players more chances to win bigger prizes. For an additional fee, players could also select a SuperStar from a range of 1 to 90, increasing the number of prizes that could be won from 6 to 14.

• 2^nd December 2008

  The First Match 6 + SuperStar Winner

  This was the first time in history that a ticket had matched all six main numbers and the SuperStar (odds of 1 in 56,035,316,700). The €45 million jackpot, plus the €2 million prize for also matching the SuperStar, was won by a syndicate of 30 players in Rossano Stazione, Cosenza.

• 2^nd July 2009

  Independent Draws

  SuperEnalotto becomes autonomous, replacing the regional number system based on Lotto draws in favour of results drawn from its own dedicated ball machines. Rome is chosen as the venue to host the draws.

  The last SuperEnalotto draw to be based on numbers drawn from Lotto was Tuesday 30^th June 2009, with the first independent draw on Thursday 2^nd July 2009.

• 30^th October 2010

  €177 Million Jackpot Win

  In the autumn of 2010 the SuperEnalotto jackpot reached €177.7 million, the highest it had ever reached at the time. On Saturday 30^th October, a syndicate of 70 players successfully matched all six main numbers to win the record prize. The players were located all over Italy but the winning ticket was bought in Milan and their prize stood as the biggest ever SuperEnalotto jackpot for nine years.

• 2^nd February 2016

  Cost of a Ticket Increases with More Chances to Win

  The price of a single ticket increased from €0.50 to €1, however, players were no longer required to buy a minimum of two entries. A new prize tier was introduced for matching two main numbers, which resulted in the overall odds of winning a prize improving from 1 in 318 to 1 in 20*. The Instant Win (Vincite Immediate) prize was also introduced, which meant players could win €25 by simply purchasing a ticket. A guaranteed minimum jackpot of €2 million was also introduced.

  *Comparative odds based on a standard SuperEnalotto entry without the SuperStar option and excluding the chance of winning an Instant Win prize.

• 27^th October 2016

  Two Records Set

  Leading up to the draw on Thursday 27^th October 2016, there had been no SuperEnalotto jackpot winner since Thursday 16^th July 2015. After 200 draws over 67 weeks, a single ticket purchased in Calabria matched all six main numbers to win €163.5 million. The winning ticket also matched the SuperStar, supplementing the jackpot with an additional €2 million prize.

  This created the record for the longest interval between jackpot winners and the record for the largest jackpot ever won by a single ticket holder. It was also the second time in history that someone had matched all six main numbers and the SuperStar.

• 13^th August 2019

  SuperEnalotto’s Biggest Ever Jackpot

  After more than a year without a jackpot winner, SuperEnalotto broke new ground in the summer of 2019. The previous record was eclipsed and the jackpot reached €209.1 million before it was won on Tuesday 13^th August. There was just one winning ticket, sold at the Bar Marino in Via Cavour 46, Lodi, in Lombardy. The winner played with random numbers, spending just €2 on their Quick Pick entry.

  The jackpot broke multiple records; not only was it the biggest ever jackpot win in Italy, it was also the biggest prize won by a single player and the biggest lottery jackpot ever awarded in Europe.

• 16^th February 2023

  A New Record

  Almost four years after the previous record was set, and after almost two years without a winner, a SuperEnalotto jackpot of €371 million was paid out. The winning ticket was a system board created by lottery operator Sisal, so it belonged to 90 players across Italy who had each purchased a share for €5. Each share turned out to be worth more than €4 million.

• 7^th July 2023

  Special Friday Draws

  A fourth weekly draw was added on a temporary basis, with the proceeds going to support the region of Emilia-Romagna following the recent floods in the area. The extra draw took place every Friday, running until the end of the year. At the end of the year, these Friday draws were extended into 2024 and the money that was raised went to the National Emergency Fund.