Mega Millions
Mega Millions is one of the two big US multi-state jackpot games. The April 8, 2025 rule change reshaped it — tickets went from $2 to $5, the Mega Ball pool dropped from 25 to 24, and a built-in random multiplier replaced the optional Megaplier. The base jackpot reset to $50 million.
How it works: Mega Millions
Pick five main numbers from 1 to 70 and one Mega Ball from 1 to 24, or take a Quick Pick. Tickets are five dollars and now include a multiplier of 2x, 3x, 4x, 5x or 10x on non-jackpot prizes — randomly assigned at purchase. Draws happen Tuesday and Friday.
The real odds of Mega Millions
These figures come straight from the game's official number matrix, so they're fixed by math — not by which numbers you pick. A quick pick has exactly the same chance as any other combination, and no generator can change that.
- Match all 5 main numbers
- 1 in 12,103,014
- Match all 5 numbers plus the bonus
- 1 in 290,472,336
Putting those odds in perspective
- Total possible combinations
- 290,472,336
- Cost to buy every combination
- $1,452,361,680
- Tickets for a 50% chance of the jackpot
- 201,340,083
- Tickets for a 1% chance of the jackpot
- 2,919,345
Playing one line per draw, you'd expect to hit the jackpot about once every 290,472,336 draws — roughly once every 2,793,003 years.
How Mega Millions compares
Among the 14 games we generate, Mega Millions ranks #3 by jackpot difficulty (1 = hardest to win).
| # | Game | Jackpot odds (1 in) |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Keno | 1,646,492,110,120 |
| 2 | Powerball | 292,201,338 |
| 3 | Mega Millions (this game) | 290,472,336 |
| 4 | Bank a Million | 130,504,920 |
| 5 | Super Lotto Plus | 41,416,353 |
| 6 | Lotto America | 25,989,600 |
| 7 | Lotto Texas | 25,827,165 |
| 8 | Bonus Match 5 | 19,575,738 |
| 9 | Wild Money | 16,564,086 |
| 10 | Match 6 | 13,983,816 |
| 11 | Classic Lotto 47 | 10,737,573 |
| 12 | Tri-State Megabucks Plus | 4,496,388 |
| 13 | All or Nothing | 2,704,156 |
| 14 | Texas Two Step | 1,832,600 |
Prize tiers
| Match | Approx. odds | Prize |
|---|---|---|
| 5 + Mega Ball | 1 in 290,472,336 | Jackpot |
| 5 | 1 in 12,607,306 | $1 million (+multiplier) |
| 4 + Mega Ball | 1 in 931,001 | $10,000 |
| 4 | 1 in 38,792 | $500 |
| 0 + Mega Ball | 1 in 37 | $10 |
A brief history
The game launched on September 6, 1996 as The Big Game in six states. It was rebranded Mega Millions in May 2002. The largest jackpot ever paid out was $1.602 billion, won in Florida in August 2023. The 2025 overhaul aimed to deliver larger jackpots faster.