One of the lotteries that's responsible for turning everyday Americans into millionaires overnight is about to undergo a major overhaul.
Mega Millions announced Monday that starting in April 2025, ticket prices will increase from $2 to $5 per play — the game's first price hike in seven years.
With that, Mega Millions said players will be getting improved odds, bigger jackpots, faster growing jackpots, a built-in multiplier, and no more break-even prizes — meaning winning tickets will always turn a profit.
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“We are creating a game that both our existing players and people new to Mega Millions will love and get excited about playing,” said Joshua Johnston, Lead Director of the Mega Millions Consortium. “We expect more billion-dollar jackpots than ever before, meaning creating more billionaires and many more millionaires as the jackpots climb, plus this game will continue the important legacy of supporting great causes everywhere Mega Millions is played.”
Since the game launched in 2002, Mega Millions has produced six billion-dollar jackpot winners, including one person in New Jersey who won a $1.13 billion jackpot earlier this year.
Meanwhile, more than 1,200 Mega Millions players have won million dollar jackpots just in the past seven years — averaging three winners per week. Most recently, a Texas resident won an $810 million Mega Millions jackpot last month.
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Mega Millions is the toughest lottery, with 1-in-302-million odds of winning the jackpot. But the game also has prizes ranging from $2 to $2 million, and the odds of winning a smaller prize are about 1 in 24.
Mega Millions is played in 45 states and Washington, D.C. Drawings are held twice a week and the next drawing will be Tuesday night at 11 p.m. ET.
The current jackpot is an estimated $129 million.
