The recent decree issued in the Official Gazette by the Minister of Labor, Solidarity and Social Security, Rosário Palma Ramalho, outlines changes to the ‘Totosorteio’ (‘M1LHÃO’) lottery based on the growth in sales observed in recent years. This initiative aims to ensure the game’s financial sustainability in the medium and long term.
The drawings, previously held weekly along with the Euromillions, will now occur monthly, but the prize value remains at 1 million euros.
Special draws with additional prizes may be organized “depending on sales trends and the robustness of the prize payment fund,” as outlined in the decree.
To conduct these special draws, proper advertising must be undertaken by the Department of Games prior to the date when bets are accepted.
The ‘M1LHÃO’ drawing will now be conducted on the last Friday of each month.
For each drawing, all bets placed for the ‘M1LHÃO’ along with the main game (Euromillions) between the day following the previous monthly draw and the day of the upcoming monthly draw will be included.
According to information on the Jogos Santa Casa website, operated by the Santa Casa da Misericórdia de Lisboa, each simple bet on Euromillions automatically generates a unique alphanumeric code, representing the ‘M1LHÃO’ bet.
The decree takes effect on July 26 and will apply to bets registered for draws from August 29 onward.
As a transitional measure, the ‘M1LHÃO’ draw on August 29 will include all bets placed alongside the main Euromillions game between July 26 and August 29.
