The popular national lottery game, Mega Millions, is set to implement a significant change in April 2025 by doubling the price of a lottery ticket. This price hike is part of a game overhaul aimed at enhancing players’ odds of winning and offering larger jackpots more frequently.
Starting in April, the cost of a Mega Millions ticket will increase from $2 to $5, marking the first price adjustment since 2017. The game administrators are optimistic that this change will result in substantial rewards to keep players engaged.
Joshua Johnston, the lead director of the Mega Millions Consortium, stated in an October 7 news release, “We anticipate more billion-dollar jackpots than ever before.”
The revamped Mega Millions game also promises:
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Improved chances of hitting the jackpot.
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Higher initial jackpots.
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Players will always receive winnings exceeding the ticket price.
Furthermore, the multiplier for matching all five white balls (excluding the mega ball) will no longer require an additional $1 and will be automatically included. This means that non-jackpot wins could potentially be boosted by up to $10 million.
The recent Mega Millions announcement does not elaborate on how the odds will be enhanced with the 2025 overhaul, which would signify a change from the alterations made in 2017. During the previous revamp, Mega Millions modified the lottery formula to make winning the jackpot more challenging, ultimately leading to an increase in billion-dollar jackpots. The first billion-dollar jackpot was awarded in 2018, and since then, five more have been won.
This strategy seems to have boosted public interest in playing the lottery, as U.S. lottery players spent over $113.3 billion on tickets in 2023, compared to $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 weekly on Tuesdays and Fridays. To win the jackpot, players must select five numbers between 1 and 70, along with a sixth number between 1 and 25, with the odds of picking the winning numbers currently standing at approximately 1 in 303 million.