There have been many big lottery wins across the world over the years. Life-changing sums of money don’t come along all that often, so when it does, it’s understandable for some lucky winners to go entirely off the radar.
The average Indian lottery winner may choose to remain anonymous after such a big win, as it may change the way they are perceived in the outside world. Consequently, it can become tricky to track down the details of some of the biggest lottery winners.
On the flip side, there are some local and international lottery winners from India that have been less conscious of concealing their miraculous wins. As a result, we’ve moved heaven and earth to get the lowdown on those lotto winners that have gone public to find the biggest lottery winner in India to date.
Although a handful of Indian states operate their state-run lotteries offline, there has always been a thirst for bigger and better prizes. Fortunately, Indian legislation – and the way international lottery sites operate – means that there’s no legal implications for Indians buying online lottery tickets for some of the biggest prize draws on the planet.
Did you know that online lottery betting gives Indians like you a chance to get involved in the following lotto draws?
The Powerball Lotto – $1.58 billion
The biggest ever win reported on the US Powerball Lotto is $1.58 billion. This is also the record jackpot paid out on any lottery, anywhere in the world.
The jackpot prize was won on January 13, 2016. Unfortunately for the winners, there were three pairs of them, so a total of six people (three couples) shared the mammoth prizes. Each winner still pocketed a life-changing sum.
Tennessee-based John and Lisa Robinson naturally upgraded their home to a multi-million-dollar estate, with its cinema and a private lake to boot. Despite trying to go back to work the day after the win, colleagues treated Lisa poorly. Since then, they’ve kept to themselves.
Fellow winners Maureen Smith and David Kaltschmidt (from Florida), and Marvin and Mae Acosta from California have also opted for quiet lives.
The first pair maintained their modest lifestyle and remain in their own home. They still play the Powerball lotto, and seldom splash their cash. It is a similar story with the Acostas. They have kept a low profile, although they are known to be philosophers, helping with many good causes.
The biggest single win on the Powerball Lotto belongs to Manuel Franco, who won $768 million on March 27, 2019. This Wisconsin winner appeared to claim his prize and hasn’t been seen since. No doubt he, too, is keeping a low profile.
The Mega Millions – $1.53 billion
The Mega Millions is another one of America’s biggest lottos. To date, the record win is a $1.537 billion prize, which was won by a woman from South Carolina on October 23, 2018. Unsurprisingly, she didn’t stick around for the publicity. Instead, the winnings were claimed for her by the lottery attorney, Jason Kurland. All that is known about the winner is that she donated a sizeable chunk to charitable causes.
We know that another $656 million was split three ways on March 30, 2012. Merle and Patricia Butler from Illinois were one couple in the set of three winners. Since winning their share, they haven’t been seen in public.
This was no doubt in part because of their name being linked to scams. Merle was forced to appear to clear up the scams, clarifying that it had nothing to do with him.
The other big winners in that draw included a group known as “The Three Amigos” from Maryland and an anonymous winner in Kansas. Little to no information is available about these lucky winners, as they also opted for anonymity.
One Mega Millions winner who hasn’t shied away from publicity is Shane Missler. He won $451 million on his own in January 2018. After winning, he posted online and found himself involved in a scam and a hoax.
After the clear-up, he was awarded his winnings and travelled the world. He lets everyone know what he is up to with his social media posts.
The Euro Millions – £195 million
Europe’s biggest lottery is unquestionably the Euro Millions. This lottery has produced some truly epic wins over the years.
According to the official Euro Millions site, there have been 533 jackpots won in the lottery’s history. Unfortunately, winners are difficult to track down, as many rather wisely choose to remain anonymous.
On several occasions, a total of €190 million has been paid out to winners. On October 8, 2019, a UK winner pocketed the prize who remained anonymous. Similar wins occurred on October 24, 2014, in Portugal, and on October 6, 2017, in Spain.
On both occasions, the winner opted for anonymity. There seems to be something about October and €190 million jackpot prizes with the Euro Millions.
In July 2022, a UK ticket-holder bagged the biggest ever EuroMillions jackpot, which was worth a ground-breaking £195.707 million. In doing so, Camelot says the lucky (yet anonymous) winner has become the 15th Briton to win over £100 million in a lottery payday.
Only once has the Euro Millions €190 million jackpot been won and the winners sought publicity. In August 2012, Adrian and Gillian Bayford won the equivalent of £161.6 million playing the Euro Millions.
The UK couple instantly became amongst Scotland’s richest couples overnight. Since winning, they have acquired several mansions, invested in football, established a charitable foundation (the Weir Charitable Trust) and much more besides.
The couple were amongst the biggest SNP (Scottish National Party) donors. They have proven rather unlucky in love, though, and their relationship broke down and is ending in divorce eight years after their epic win.
Other big wins in the Euro Millions have been plentiful. On June 7, 2013, two lucky winners shared a €187 million jackpot. It may not have been enough to see them break into the €190 million club, but these anonymous winners from Ireland and Belgium are no doubt living comfortably.
And what about El Gordo?
Officially, all the above lottery wins pale compared to Spain’s El Gordo. This lotto has, in the past, paid out prizes worth upwards of €2.5 billion. That win even makes the biggest Powerball lotto prize look like chump change. At least, it would do if there was a single winner.
El Gordo is regularly won by entire communities, with many hundreds and even thousands of people often sharing the prize. As a result, each winner ends up far less rich than the winner of the lotteries listed above. Still, even their winnings would satisfy most readers!
Who Are the Major Lotto247 Winners in India?
Did you know? All Indians can enter the above international lotteries to win. Lotto247 is one such platform that offers online betting on lotto numbers across some of the biggest international lottery jackpots, including the US Powerball, MegaMillions, EuroMillions and the SuperEnalotto.
Lotto247 operates on an insurance model. Lotto247 players can subsequently place bets on the winning numbers on different international lotteries.
If a player guesses correctly, they are paid out the same sum as the international lottery, with the funds paid directly to the player by Lotto247 rather than the national lottery operator.
If you’re intrigued by this new concept of entering lotteries overseas, check out the biggest Lotto247 winners in India to date:
| Name | Jackpot | Story |
| Lingaraju D, Bengaluru | $514,000 (₹3.8 Crores) | 68-year-old Lingaraju D from Bengaluru is a retired health inspector. After a long and fruitful career in India’s healthcare industry, Lingaraju landed a lottery win with Lotto247 that would set him up for the rest of his days. Lingaraju signed up to the Lotto247 site and entered into the MegaMillions jackpot game in November 2020. Although Lingaraju only matched five out of the six numbers, it was enough to land a $514,000 payday.Had he been lucky enough to predict all six numbers, he would have been one of the all-time lotto winners at approximately $351 million! Lingaraju opted against using Lotto247’s “Quick Pick” function, which offers a randomised service for users.Instead, he chose numbers based on his birthday, the date of the day, his lucky number and even his astrological sign. |
Lottoland India Winners Revealed
Lottoland is known as the pioneer of online lottery betting. These guys led the way for insurance-backed lottery betting, opening up a whole new field of offshore lotteries to players in India and other countries where lotto games are often frowned upon.
Today, they offer a choice of over 30 national jackpots worldwide. They offer tickets on lotteries like the US PowerBall and the MegaMillions, both of which have had jackpots worth more than £1 billion in the past.
Each lottery game carries different ticket prices based on the potential prizes available. There’s also a different percentage chance of winning each lottery.
Either way, there have been plenty of Lottoland winners in India, demonstrating the global nature of online lottery betting. Let’s take at the luckiest Lottoland India winners that have gone public with their success:
| Name | Jackpot | Story |
| Partho Mondal, Malda (West Bengal) | 52,86,953 INR (₹53 Lakh) | The biggest Lottoland winners in India was a man playing a lottery game that’s exclusive to Lottoland rather than an international lottery.Partho Mondal entered the Malamaal Daily and was required to select five numbers at random. Partho chose 03, 05, 14, 30 and 31.Partho was a customer support representative living in Malda before his win. To his surprise, he would land almost ₹53 Lakh.Partho planned to use his winnings to pay off his debts and help family and friends wherever he can. |
Other notable Indian lottery winners
There have been many other international lottery winners from India that have scooped life-changing sums of money. The Mega Millions lottery Indian winners are undoubtedly the richest lotto winners of all on the subcontinent.
The magnitude of their prizes are on another stratosphere compared with the smaller local, state-run lotteries open to some Indian regions.
Below, we’ll shine a spotlight on five more notable lottery successes from Indian players, demonstrating that everyday people like you can win big when the stars (and numbers) align:
- Hira Singh – Mega Millions (₹400.09 Crore)
Hira Singh lived in Kansas City, US, when he landed the Mega Millions lottery back in March 2019. He purchased a ticket at the same time as paying for his vehicle’s fuel and the rest is history. It was several days after Singh won he realised he was a winner. He eventually checked his ticket at the weekend and discovered his US$50 million jackpot win – he’s probably had worse Saturdays!
- Sandeep ‘Sunny’ Singh – Mega Millions (₹227.8 Crore)
Sandeep Singh landed a life-changing US$30.5 million Mega Millions lottery just a matter of days after being dumped by his girlfriend. That’s certainly one way to get over someone! The Best Buy employee lived in California at the time of his win. He won $4 on a scratchcard and opted to use all of his winnings to buy four tickets into the Mega Millions lottery. He and one other lucky winner landed an equal share of the $61 million jackpot.
- Krishna Barri (₹108.3 Crore)
India-born Krishna Barri lived in Tampa, Florida at the time of his state lottery win. He landed a cool US$14.5 million. However, Barri wouldn’t go down the conventional route of buying property or going on lavish holidays with his winnings. Instead, he used a portion of his loot to pay for the schooling of 100 children with underprivileged upbringings in India. An incredibly worthy cause indeed!
- Balraj Awasthi (₹95.6 Crore)
Balraj was working in the Canadian city of Toronto as a professional chef when he landed a life-changing state lottery win. Awasthi scooped more than US$12.8 million, which he decided to use to set up his own business, while travelling the world across mainland Europe and Australia.
Nirmal Dhamodarasamy – US Powerball (₹7.9 Crore)
Dhamodarasamy was a college graduate from the University of Illinois in Chicago. He won approximately US$1 million when entering the US Powerball lottery. Traditionally, he would visit a local convenience store to buy his Powerball ticket. However, this time, he signed up online through a local sales channel. Dhamodarasamy, who was studying for a master’s in industrial engineering at the time of his win, planned to use his winnings to bring his parents over from India for his graduation ceremony.
