Mega Millions lottery ticket prices are set to increase by more than double at the end of next week as part of a national game overhaul. The changes are aimed at improving players’ odds and offering larger jackpots more frequently.
After the drawing on April 4, the cost of a Mega Millions ticket will rise from $2 to $5 per play. This marks the first price hike since 2017 when the game underwent its last major revamp. The game’s organizers are hopeful that the increased prices will result in greater rewards for players.
Joshua Johnston, lead director of the Mega Millions Consortium, stated in a March 25 news release, “Beyond big jackpots, players told us they want bigger non-jackpot prizes and that’s exactly what this new game delivers.”
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Instead of paying an additional $1 for a multiplier, the prize for matching up to five white balls (excluding the mega ball) will now be automatically applied with a randomized multiplier of 2, 3, 4, 5, or 10 times the base prize.
The game’s overhaul also promises:
Better odds. The odds of winning any prize will improve from 1 in 24 to 1 in 23, and the odds of winning the jackpot will increase from approximately 1 in 303 million to around 1 in 290 million.
This marks a reversal of the significant changes made in 2017 when Mega Millions adjusted the lottery formula to make winning the jackpot more difficult, leading to more frequent billion-dollar jackpots. Since 2018, Mega Millions has awarded six billion-dollar jackpots.
Larger starting jackpots. Following a jackpot win, the game will now reset with a $50 million grand prize instead of the current $20 million.
Faster-growing jackpots. The average jackpot win is estimated to increase from around $450 million to $800 million post-overhaul.
Higher minimum prizes. Under the new rules, players can expect higher base prizes and random multipliers, resulting in larger minimum payouts for all lottery wins.
For instance, matching just one white ball will now yield a $5 base prize (up from $2) multiplied by 2, 3, 4, 5, or 10, potentially resulting in a $10 prize – double the cost of the initial ticket.
In recent years, there has been a surge in public interest in playing the lottery. U.S. lottery players spent over $113.3 billion on tickets in 2023, up from $73.8 billion in 2015, according to the North American Association of State and Provincial Lotteries.
Mega Millions is available in 45 U.S. states, Washington, D.C., and the U.S. Virgin Islands, with drawings held twice a week on Tuesdays and Fridays. To win the jackpot, players must select five numbers between 1 and 70, and a sixth number between 1 and 25.