One last drawing tonight before game overhaul

By Kate Northrop

Tonight will mark the last and final Mega Millions multi-state game drawing before ticket prices increase from $2 to $5 and the major anticipated game changes take effect.

The Mega Millions multi-state game overhaul is just around the corner, with increased ticket prices, larger starting jackpots, and improved odds.

The new version of the game will take over upon the completion of the drawing on Friday, April 4, 2025, with the first drawing of the new version set for Tuesday, April 8 at 11:00 p.m. Eastern Time.

Of course, the biggest change that's causing all the buzz is the ticket price increase from $2 to $5 per play — but what's the tradeoff? Here are all the upcoming changes that players can expect next week:

Goodbye Megaplier, hello multiplier

While players could previously add the Megaplier option to their ticket for an extra $1 per play, the optional Megaplier feature is set to be discontinued. Instead, a multiplier number will automatically be included in every play. Each line on a ticket will be randomly assigned a multiplier of 2x, 3x, 4x, 5x, or 10x for a chance to increase non-jackpot prize winnings, up to $10 million.

"Beyond big jackpots, players told us they want bigger non-jackpot prizes, and that's exactly what this new game delivers," Mega Millions Consortium Lead Director Joshua Johnston said in a press release. "Players who had won $2 in the old game will now take home $10, $15, $20, $25 or $50 under this game. Those who had won $500 under the old rules will now take home $1,000; $1,500; $2,000; $2,500 or $5,000 in this new game. Non-jackpot prizes at every level are going up by 2x to 10x. That's the kind of value the new Mega Millions will deliver to our players at every single drawing."

Californians, who are not used to multiplier features due to the state's rules on pari-mutuel payouts, will have their own iteration of the automatic multiplier. The California Lottery adopted unique rule changes during a January commission meeting to allow for the game change while accommodating the pari-mutual payout basis, Lottery Deputy Director of Public Affairs and Communications Carolyn Becker explained to Lottery Post. Becker also advised that these updated regulations do not go into effect until 5:30 a.m. Pacific Time on April 5 with the first sales of the enhanced Mega Millions game.

California allocates roughly 50% of Mega Millions ticket sales to the prize pool each draw, with specific percentages of that prize pool allocated to each prize level. Each multiplier is given a corresponding "share value" that equals the multiplier number. For example, a 10x equals 10 shares, a 5x equals 5 shares, etc.

For each prize tier, the total winning shares are added up, and the prize tier's percentage allocation is divided by the total number of winning shares to get the base prize amount for that tier. Then, each individual winner's base prize amount is multiplied by their respective multiplier number to determine their own prize.

Increased starting jackpot, grows faster

It's a positive change that players have been asking for since the pandemic. In the old game format, the jackpot resets to $20 million every time it is won. Going forward, the jackpot amount will now reset to $50 million.

With the larger starting jackpot and increased ticket price, lottery officials expect jackpots to reach higher dollar amounts more frequently and at a much faster pace. The Mega Millions Consortium estimates that the average jackpot win in the new game will be more than $800 million versus approximately $450 million in the game's current form.

If a jackpot is not won, the minimum increase between rollovers will be $10 million, Mega Millions national spokesman Dan Miller informed Lottery Post. However, this is subject to change. The Mega Millions Consortium will review how sales perform under the new number matrix for the first few weeks and may reconsider the appropriate increase amount between draws.

Improved odds

Speaking of number matrices, overall odds at winning any prize will improve to 1 in 23, from 1 in 24 in the previous version. The odds at winning the jackpot will also improve from about 1 in 302.57 million to 1 in 290.47 million. These odds can be attributed to the removal of one gold Mega Ball from the number matrix, bringing the number of Mega Balls down from 25 to 24.

For comparison, the overall odds of winning any prize in the Powerball multi-state game are about 1 in 24.9, while the odds of winning the Powerball jackpot are about 1 in 292.2 million.

Bigger base prize amounts

The lowest-tier prize amount will increase from $2 to $5, but with the automatically embedded Megaplier option, the lowest-possible prize a player can win will actually range anywhere from $10 to $50, depending on the multiplier number assigned to the play.

This also means the minimum prize of $10 now outweighs the $5 cost to play, as opposed to winning $2 on a $2 ticket.

The second-lowest prize amount will also increase from $4 to $7, meaning that tier will award prizes ranging from $14 to $70, also depending on the multiplier.

The remainder of the prize tiers will not change but are technically still higher thanks to the embedded multiplier. For example, the second-tier prize will remain $1 million, but the multiplier will automatically bump it up to anywhere from $2 million to $10 million.

Just the Jackpot discontinued

In certain states, players had access to a feature called Just the Jackpot, which allowed players to play for only the jackpot. This $3 option gave two plays for the jackpot, but the ticket would not be eligible for any other prize levels.

The Just the Jackpot feature will be retired after the drawing on April 5, 2025.

Other things to note

If there is no jackpot winner on April 4, 2025, the jackpot will roll into the new game version and continue to grow from ticket sales at the new price point, the Mega Millions Consortium advised.

Players who have a winning ticket that was issued for a drawing prior to the game changes may still claim their prize within their jurisdiction's claims deadlines, but the payout will be based on the prize matrix in effect during the time of drawing for their ticket, regardless of when the prize is claimed.

Originally launched as "The Big Game" in 1996, Mega Millions officially adopted its current namesake in 2002 and held its first drawing on May 17, 2002, producing an Illinois jackpot winner of $28 million that same night.

This is the second price adjustment in the game's history since the first Mega Millions ticket was sold over 20 years ago. The price of a ticket went up from $1 to $2 in 2017.

The game boasts a total of seven jackpot wins exceeding $1 billion, each win taking place in a different state:

• Florida — $1.602 billion, Aug. 8, 2023
• South Carolina — $1.537 billion, Oct. 23, 2018
• Maine — $1.348 billion, Jan. 13, 2023
• Illinois — $1.337 billion, July 29, 2022
• California — $1.269 billion, Dec. 27, 2024
• New Jersey — $1.128 billion, March 26, 2024
• Michigan — $1.050 billion, Jan. 22, 2021

More than 1,200 Mega Millions players have become millionaires since the last game update in 2017, according to the Consortium, averaging 3 new millionaires per week.

The last Mega Millions drawing for the game in its current format will take place on Friday, April 4 at 11:00 p.m. Eastern Time for a jackpot of $43 million. The new game version will go into effect immediately after the drawing concludes, with the first drawing of the new version on Tuesday, April 8.

Mega Millions is currently offered for sale in 45 states, plus Washington, D.C. and the U.S. Virgin Islands. Drawings are Tuesdays and Fridays at 11:00 p.m. Eastern Time. Tickets cost $2 each and will increase to $5 each following Friday night's draw.

The Mega Millions winning numbers are published at USA Mega (www.usamega.com) minutes after the drawing takes place.