The price of Mega Millions tickets more than doubles starting Saturday as a new version of the game is rolled out.
Why it matters: U.S. lottery sales are big money as Americans play in hopes of winning a life-changing jackpot.
- Players spent more than $113 billion on lottery products in the 2024 fiscal year, according to the North American Association of State & Provincial Lotteries.
When is Mega Millions’ price increase?
State of play: Mega Millions ticket prices increase from $2 to $5 starting Saturday.
- The April 4 drawing is the final Mega Millions drawing before the overhaul.
- The $5 tickets will come with a “built-in random multiplier.”
Flashback: It’s the second time prices have been hiked since Mega Millions tickets debuted more than 20 years ago.
Mega Millions drawing time, how to watch
Mega Millions drawings are held in Atlanta at 11pm ET on Tuesdays and Fridays.
- The drawings are posted on the Mega Millions YouTube page.
Mega Millions changes debut with April 8 drawing
What we’re watching: The April 8 drawing is the first with the new prize structure and ticket prices.
- Mega Millions says changes include “bigger prizes at every non-jackpot prize tier, better odds to win the jackpot” and a multiplier “that will increase all non-jackpot prizes by 2X-10X.”
- The new game has 24 Mega Balls instead of 25.
New Mega Millions jackpot
The starting jackpot will reset to $50 million following a jackpot win instead of resetting at $20 million.
- Jackpots are expected to grow faster and get to higher amounts more frequently in the new game.
- The Mega Millions Consortium said it estimates that the average jackpot win in the new game will be more than $800 million versus around $450 million in the old game.
Between the lines: The April 4 drawing had an estimated jackpot of $43 million with a cash option of $20.5 million, per the lottery.
- Mega Millions said unless someone wins the jackpot with Friday’s drawing, “the jackpot from the current game will roll into the new game and continue to grow with ticket sales from the new game.”
Mega Millions odds
The odds of winning the grand-prize jackpot go from astronomical (1 in 303 million) to slightly less astronomical (1 in 290 million) with the removal of one gold Mega Ball from the game.
- Removing the one gold Mega Ball from the game also improves the overall odds to win any prize from 1 in 24 to 1 in 23.
Mega Millions prize chart
By the numbers: Here are the prize amounts for matching numbers with and without the Mega Ball. Amounts vary because of the multiplier for all prizes except the jackpot (See the chart here):
- Mega Ball: $10, $15, $20, $25 or $50 — up from $2.
- One number and Mega Ball: $14, $21, $28, $35 or $70 — up from $4.
- Two numbers and Mega Ball: $20, $30, $40, $50 or $100 — up from $10.
- Three numbers: $20, $30, $40, $50 or $100 — up from $10.
- Three numbers plus Mega Ball: $400, $600, $800, $1,000 or $2,000 — up from $200.
- Four numbers: $1,000, $1,500, $2,000, $2,500 or $5,000 — up from $500.
- Four numbers plus Mega Ball: $20,000, $30,000, $40,000, $50,000 or $100,000 — up from $10,000.
- Five numbers: $2 million, $3 million, $4 million, $5 million or $10 million — up from $1 million.
- Five numbers plus Mega Ball: Jackpot.
What states sell Mega Millions tickets?
Mega Millions tickets are sold in 45 states, Washington, D.C., and the U.S. Virgin Islands, with drawings held each Tuesday and Friday.
- Cutoff times to buy tickets vary by state because tickets are sold by individual lotteries.
- Alabama, Alaska, Hawaii, Nevada and Utah do not participate in the lottery.
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