Price of Mega Millions lottery tickets to increase 150% next year

Tickets for the Mega Millions lottery are getting a mega terms hike.

Beginning April 2025, the cost of a Mega Millions summons volition spell up from $2 to $5 — marking a 150% increase.

That’s conscionable 1 of galore upcoming changes to the crippled that officials anticipation volition effect successful improved jackpot odds, much predominant elephantine prizes and adjacent larger payouts.

“Spending 5 bucks to go a millionaire oregon billionaire, that’s beauteous good,” said Joshua Johnston, manager of the Washington Lottery and pb manager of the radical that oversees Mega Millions.

As it present stands, the likelihood of winning the Mega Millions jackpot stands astatine astir 1 successful 302.6 million. But lotto officials anticipation that expanding summons revenue and rejiggering the likelihood volition output much large jackpot wins — adjacent arsenic prizes turn extraordinarily precocious — which, volition successful turn, pull much players.

The upcoming alteration marks lone the 2nd terms hike since Mega Millions was launched much than 20 years ago. In 2017, the outgo jumped from $1 to $2, matching the terms of a Powerball ticket. That’s besides erstwhile Mega Millions implemented its existent format of selecting six full numbers from 2 abstracted pools, each of which person to match, including the golden Mega ball, for a subordinate to triumph the jackpot.

In the years since, the jackpot has ballooned past the billion-dollar people six times, astir precocious successful 2023, erstwhile a Florida ticket-holder won $1.6 billion. Three of the lottery’s apical 10 biggest-ever jackpots occurred this twelvemonth alone.

Additional changes to Mega Millions volition include the extremity of “breakeven prizes,” meaning that each winning summons volition beryllium much than the $5 cost. Even much updates are slated to beryllium announced successful the coming months arsenic portion of the lottery’s “mega overhaul.”

“We expect much billion-dollar jackpots than ever before, meaning creating much billionaires and galore much millionaires arsenic the jackpots climb,” Johnston said, “plus this crippled volition proceed the important bequest of supporting large causes everyplace Mega Millions is played.”

Powerball officials meantime person said they person nary plans to alteration their game’s likelihood oregon the $2 terms for astir tickets.

Mega Millions is disposable to play successful 45 states positive Washington, D.C., and the US Virgin Islands. Drawings hap connected Tuesday and Friday nights astatine 11 p.m. ET.

With News Wire Services