Mega Millions is changing everything about itself. Here's what to know
Mega Millions is getting a makeover — including more than doubling the price of a ticket — as the multi-state lottery game aims to improve players' odds and dish out bigger jackpots.
The lottery, which is available to play in 45 states plus Washington, DC, and the US Virgin Islands, announced last year that changes were coming in April.
Since the lottery launched in 2002, seven winners have won billion-plus jackpots — most recently in December, when a California resident won a $1.26 billion prize (or about $550 million in cash).
But 'beyond big jackpots, players told us they want bigger non-jackpot prizes and that's exactly what this new game delivers,' said Joshua Johnston, lead director of the Mega Millions Consortium, in a press release.
Now the big game, with drawings every Tuesday and Friday at 11 pm ET, is getting some major changes.
Arguably the biggest change is the price of a ticket, which now costs $5 — a large jump from $2. This is only the second price increase in the game's 23 years, following 2017 when the price doubled to $2 from $1.
Although it's a steep increase, Mega Millions said that the higher ticket price will result in larger starting jackpots and faster-growing prizes. The lottery expects the average jackpot will be more than $800 million, much higher than the current $450 million average.
For the lower-payout winners, there will no longer be 'breakeven prizes' — meaning that every winning ticket will be more than the cost of a $5 ticket.
That means players who would have won just $2 previously can now win between $10 to $50 under the revised format. Also, people who would have won $500 in the old game can now win significantly more money in the new version, ranging between $1,000 to $5,000.
Despite the hefty price increase, Akshay Khanna, CEO of Jackpot.com, which sells Mega Millions tickets in seven states, told CNN that the lottery game's customers often spend more than $5 when buying tickets.
'While some customers may initially be surprised, we believe they'll come to recognize the added benefits that this price increase enables,' said Khanna.
'This vastly differs from something like a subway fare hike where you're paying more for the same ride,' he added. 'With this Mega Millions price increase, players are receiving improved odds alongside larger and faster-growing jackpots.'
It's not just ticket prices getting an overhaul. Mega Millions is tweaking the game itself.
The game is removing one gold 'Mega Ball' from the draw, which slightly improves the odds to win any prize from a 1 in 24 chance to 1 in 23. The overall odds of winning the entire Mega Millions jackpot also increases from 1 in 302.6 million, to 1 in 290.5 million.
But the lottery is also eliminating some add-ons. That includes the 'Megaplier,' a $1 add-on that increases non-jackpot payouts and is only available in some states. Also eliminated is 'Just the Jackpot,' a $3 ticket that gives a player gets two plays to win the overall jackpot but not the lower-payout prizes.
All of these modifications will be a net positive for the game, Khanna predicts.
'The larger starting jackpots should attract more players,' he said, 'ultimately increasing the prize amount at a faster rate to keep them engaged.'
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