Mega Millions Lottery: Changes Coming To Ticket Prices, Chances Of Winning

Starting this weekend, there will be some major changes coming to the Mega Millions lottery. The ticket price will double and prizes will increase, as will the odds for hitting the jackpot. However the chances of winning a $1 million purse will improve.

Starting Saturday, the ticket price will go up from $1 to $2, Mega Millions said in a press release. In the redesigned games, Mega Millions explains that players will select five numbers from 1 to 70 and one Mega Ball number from 1 to 25. In the redesigned game, players will have a 1-in-24 overall chance of winning a prize.

The new game will have an optional $3 wager — "Just the Jackpot" will allow players to receive two entries for a chance to win, well, just the jackpot. Those tickets are not eligible for any other prizes. USA Today reports that the "Just the Jackpot" option will initially only be available in six states: Georgia, Massachusetts, Nebraska, Ohio, South Dakota and Texas.

Also See: Mega-Millionaire Lottery Winners: Where Are They Now?

Mega Millions said starting jackpots will more than double from $15 million to $40 million and jackpots will grow faster overall. The lottery said players will have better odds at winning the $1 million prizes and better secondary prizes. Those odds drop from a 1-in-18.4 million chance of winning a million-dollar prize to a 1-in- 12.6 million chance, according to the New York Gaming Commission.

The odds of hitting the jackpot, however, will increase from a 1-in-258-million chance to a 1-in-302-million chance, according to the gaming commission.

“We have a demand for innovation to keep fresh, entertaining lottery games and to deliver the attention-grabbing jackpots,” Mega Millions President Debbie D. Alford said in a press release. “We’re excited to deliver the opportunity to create more millionaires and also provide more opportunities to raise additional revenues for the respected causes lotteries benefit.”

The changes go into place Oct. 28 for the game, which is played in 44 states plus in Washington D.C. and the U.S. Virgin Islands.

Mega Millions was introduced as The Big Games in August 1996 with six member states. The largest Mega Millions jackpot to date is $656 million, which was split by three winners in Illinois, Kansas and Maryland in 2012. The other big lottery game, Powerball, has boasted larger payouts more recently, including a winning ticket in Massachusetts worth $758 million that was claimed in August.

The new changes will be in place for the Mega Millions drawing on Oct. 31. The drawing is held at 11 p.m. eastern time, 10 p.m. central time, 9 p.m., mountain time and 8 p.m. pacific time.

Photo by G-Jun Yam/Associated Press