Mega Millions Confirms 2025 Overhaul With Bigger Jackpots, Improved Odds
Price point increase from $2 to $5 finally made official several months after it was first reported
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After months of reports of a transformative update in 2025, the Mega Millions lottery has now confirmed that the expected enhancements are indeed coming next April.
Among the most notable changes are improved odds for winning the jackpot, bigger jackpots that are expected to cross the billion-dollar mark more frequently, and larger starting prize amounts. These are part of an overarching effort to make jackpots grow at an accelerated rate compared to the current system.
“We are creating a game that both our existing players and people new to Mega Millions will love and get excited about playing. 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.”
— Mega Millions Consortium Lead Director Joshua Johnston
Another feature of the new Mega Millions version, some details of which were shared in June, will be a built-in multiplier for every ticket. Currently, the “Megaplier” option allows players to boost their non-jackpot winnings by paying an additional fee, but the updated format will automatically include this multiplier for every play.
Depending on the multiplier — determined at random, ranging from 2X to 10X — non-jackpot prizes can soar as high as $10 million for matching all five white balls.
In addition, the revamped Mega Millions will eliminate breakeven prizes, a departure from the existing structure where some wins equal the price of a ticket. Under the new rules, every win will be worth more than the cost of entry.
New features bring new price
The cost of a Mega Millions ticket will also increase to $5 per play, as broken in May by Lottery Geeks. This marks only the second time in the game’s two-decade-plus history that the price has been adjusted.
The last price increase occurred in 2017 when the current game matrix was adopted. Despite the price change, Mega Millions Consortium Lead Director Joshua Johnston expressed confidence that players will embrace the new format, given the array of potential benefits it offers, from larger jackpots to more substantial non-jackpot wins.
Since its inception in 2002, Mega Millions has grown into one of the largest lottery games in the U.S., available in 45 states, Washington, D.C., and the U.S. Virgin Islands. The game’s six separate billion-dollar-plus jackpot wins — more than any other U.S. lottery game — have made headlines. Since the last major update seven years ago, Mega Millions draws have turned more than 1,200 players into millionaires.
Mega Millions also plays a vital role in supporting important causes across the country. Lottery profits are allocated differently depending on the jurisdiction but typically fund education, public infrastructure, and other charitable causes.
Drawings for Mega Millions are held twice a week — on Tuesdays and Fridays at 11 p.m. ET in Atlanta — and that will continue under the new game structure.
