Mega Millions is getting some upgrades this April.
Officials announced on Tuesday that cost to play will increase from $2 to $5, paving the way for some bigger prizes. It’s only the second price change since the game began more than 20 years ago. The last change was in 2017.
Included in the new $5 ticket will be a built-in randomly generated Multiplier, ranging from 2X to 10X.
That means there won’t be any more break-even prizes. A ticket with the lowest Multiplier, 2X, would double the base prize to $10. The Multiplier does not increase the jackpot itself and replaces the $1 Megaplier add-on feature.
“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 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.”
Mega Millions also said it will increase the starting jackpot to $50 million, up from the current $20 million. Officials said with this move, they expect the pot to grow faster and increase to the $1 billion mark more often.
“Players are going to love the new Mega Millions,” said Wisconsin Lottery Director Cindy Polzin in a release. “Adding in the Multiplier and offering bigger prizes should lead to some big wins, hopefully in Wisconsin.”
With these changes, Mega Millions said the odds of winning the jackpot will increase to 1 in 290,472,336. Previously, the odds were 1 in 302,575,350.
Numbers for the jackpot will continue to be drawn on Tuesday and Friday evenings.
The new changes will go into effect after the Mega Millions drawing on Friday, April 4. Officials said sales for the new $5 version of the game will start the next morning on Saturday, April 5. The first drawing in the new game will be on Tuesday, April 8 at 10 p.m.
Unless the game is won on April 4, the estimated Mega Millions jackpot will carry over into the next drawing under the new rules. If the game is won on April 4, the new starting jackpot will reflect the new $50 million revision.
You can view the full breakdown of the new game on the Mega Millions website.
Mega Millions is available in 45 states, Washington, D.C. and the U.S. Virgin Islands. In Wisconsin, it’s generated over $20.1 billion in revenue since 1988. The drawing has produced seven winners of the billion-dollar jackpots, who are all in different states.
