Who hasn’t fantasized about what they'd do if they hit the jackpot in the lottery?
What would you spend billions on? Maybe you've already picked out your dream car and long-awaited apartment in your mind, or even planned how you’d quit your job and what you’d say to your boss. But what do lottery winners actually spend their money on?
It’s not such a crazy thought that the grand prize of the lottery might one day fall into your lap, especially if you're someone who plays every week. Many people like to use birthdates when filling out their ticket, and that’s no surprise: there are plenty of stories out there where that strategy has actually worked.
In Hungary, lottery tickets for the "Ötöslottó" first went on sale in 1957, and less than a month later, the first five-number winner was born. That winner was a 66-year-old widowed mother of four, who won 850,000 forints by playing the ages of her children and herself, starting a tradition that continues to this day.
In the early years, lottery winners were fully public. They collected their cash winnings in front of an audience, and their names were splashed across newspapers. Some even showed up with suitcases to carry home the bundles of hundred-forint notes. Today, however, big winners tend to keep a low profile and prefer to remain anonymous.
For prizes above 300 million forints, Szerencsejáték Zrt. asks winners to fill out a so-called “big winner questionnaire,” which is completely anonymous. Among those who agreed to participate, most said they planned to spend the astronomical sum on housing, travel, and themselves.
About 70 percent of respondents said they would also share some of the prize with close family members. Friends, however, weren’t so lucky. Most winners said they wouldn’t tell their friends at all, let alone share the money with them.
Contrary to popular belief, quitting work isn’t usually the first move winners make. The survey clearly shows that most winners only plan to take a break or a short vacation after collecting their prize, before returning to their regular lives. In fact, many said they didn’t expect the big win to change their lives drastically at all, which may explain why they choose to stay at their jobs.
Multibillion forint jackpots only happen about once a year on average. But 2024 was a double win year. Not once, but twice, Hungary’s most famous lottery game delivered jackpots exceeding 6 billion forints. After a nearly 6 billion forint win in March, October saw one incredibly lucky player take home the largest prize in the game's history, 6.5 billion forints.
