Philadelphia, PA - The Mega Millions multi-state lottery game is being updated to offer $40 million starting jackpots and faster jackpot growth. The Pennsylvania Lottery remains the only state lottery to direct all proceeds to programs that benefit older residents.
Starting jackpots will increase from $15 million to $40 million, and jackpots will grow faster overall. There will be higher secondary prizes and better chances to win $1 million prizes. To support the new prize structure, the ticket price will change from $1 to $2 per play.
"Mega Millions players are motivated by large jackpots, which is what these changes are designed to deliver," said Pennsylvania Lottery Executive Director Drew Svitko.
In the updated game, players will select five numbers from 1 to 70, and one Mega Ball number from 1 to 25. Players will have a 1 in 24 overall chance of winning any prize. The chances of winning the jackpot will be 1 in 302,575,350.
The game will continue to offer the $1 Megaplier® add-on, which multiplies non-jackpot prizes by a factor of 2, 3, 4, or 5. By purchasing the Megaplier option, a player could win up to $5 million for matching all five numbers drawn but not matching the Mega Ball number.
Ticket sales for the updated game will begin October 28 with the first drawing under the new rules taking place October 31. This is the first change to the Mega Millions game since the current game matrix was implemented in October 2013.
The number of advance Mega Millions draws available for purchase will continue to decrease by one, after each drawing, until the updated game goes on sale October 28. At that time, players will again be able to purchase up to 26 drawings in advance.
Since the Pennsylvania Lottery joined Mega Millions in 2010, players in this state have won two jackpots worth $86.7 million and $91 million (cash), as well as more than $186 million in other prizes through playing the game.
The largest Mega Millions jackpot on record was a $656 million prize split by three winners in Illinois, Kansas, and Maryland in 2012. Mega Millions is played in 44 states, Washington, D.C., and the U.S. Virgin Islands.