How to Play Mega Millions: The $5 Game With a Built-In Multiplier

Mega Millions got a makeover in April 2025. A ticket now costs $5, every play comes with a built-in multiplier, and the gold Mega Ball is drawn from 1 to 24. The game is sold in 45 states, Washington, D.C., and the U.S. Virgin Islands. Here’s how it all works.

What changed in April 2025

If you played the old version, here’s what’s different since the April 8, 2025, drawing:

• Price: $5 per play, up from $2.
• Mega Ball: drawn from 1 to 24 instead of 1 to 25.
• Multiplier: built into every play. The optional $1 Megaplier is gone.
• Just the Jackpot: retired.
• Starting jackpot: $50 million.
• Smallest prize: $10, twice the ticket price.

Holding an old ticket? Tickets for drawings on April 4, 2025, or earlier are paid under the old prize chart, as long as you claim by the deadline set by the lottery that sold the ticket.

Pick your numbers

Every play has two parts:

• Five white-ball numbers from 1 to 70
• One gold Mega Ball from 1 to 24

Choose your own numbers or ask for an Easy Pick (also called a Quick Pick) and let the terminal choose. Megamillions.com even has a random number generator, and it puts the choice nicely: “No system of choosing randomly generated picks is better than any other system.” Play whichever way you enjoy.

When the drawings happen

Drawings are every Tuesday and Friday at 11 p.m. Eastern. That’s 10 p.m. Central, 9 p.m. Mountain and 8 p.m. Pacific. They’re held at the WSB-TV studio in Atlanta.

The cut-off for buying tickets varies by state, so check with your state lottery. For a look behind the scenes, see how lottery drawings work.

The built-in multiplier

Here’s the feature that makes the new Mega Millions different. Each play gets a multiplier of 2X, 3X, 4X, 5X or 10X, assigned at random when you buy and printed on your ticket. It multiplies every non-jackpot prize on that play.

Unlike Powerball’s Power Play, it isn’t drawn on TV. You’ll know your multiplier before the drawing even starts. On a ticket with several lines, each line can show a different multiplier.

Multiplier	Odds
2X	1 in 2.13
3X	1 in 3.2
4X	1 in 8
5X	1 in 16
10X	1 in 32

Buying several drawings in advance or using a subscription? Lotteries handle the multiplier differently for those, so ask your lottery how yours works.

Prizes and odds

Match all five white balls, in any order, plus the Mega Ball to win the jackpot. If more than one ticket matches, the jackpot is shared. The other eight prizes depend on your multiplier:

Match	2X	3X	4X	5X	10X	Odds
5 + Mega Ball	Jackpot	Jackpot	Jackpot	Jackpot	Jackpot	1 in 290,472,336
5	$2M	$3M	$4M	$5M	$10M	1 in 12,629,232
4 + Mega Ball	$20,000	$30,000	$40,000	$50,000	$100,000	1 in 893,761
4	$1,000	$1,500	$2,000	$2,500	$5,000	1 in 38,859
3 + Mega Ball	$400	$600	$800	$1,000	$2,000	1 in 13,965
3	$20	$30	$40	$50	$100	1 in 607
2 + Mega Ball	$20	$30	$40	$50	$100	1 in 665
1 + Mega Ball	$14	$21	$28	$35	$70	1 in 86
Mega Ball only	$10	$15	$20	$25	$50	1 in 35

A second-tier prize of up to $10 million is something no other U.S. game offers, according to Mega Millions. In California, prizes are pari-mutuel, so the amounts there differ from this chart.

If you win the jackpot, you choose between two options:

• Cash option: one lump-sum payment equal to all the cash in the jackpot prize pool.
• Annuity: one immediate payment followed by 29 yearly payments, each 5% bigger than the last.

Our lump sum vs. annuity guide compares them.

How to check your ticket

• White balls can match in any order. Your ticket and the official results both list them in numerical order, which makes comparing easy.
• The Mega Ball must match exactly.
• Find your multiplier. It’s printed on each line, so a small prize could be bigger than you expect.
• Get the results. Megamillions.com posts the winning numbers and drawing video shortly after each drawing. The number of winners follows once every lottery has certified its results. Our ticket checker matches your numbers to a prize tier, and our Mega Millions page has the latest draws.

There’s no official Mega Millions app, but many state lottery apps include ticket checkers and winning-number alerts.

Hang on to that ticket

• Sign the back. Mega Millions calls tickets “bearer instruments”: unless signed, anyone holding one can file a prize claim.
• Claim where you bought. Winning tickets must be redeemed in the state or jurisdiction where they were purchased. Lotteries typically offer claims by mail for most prize levels.
• Mind the clock. Claim periods run from 90 days to one year from the draw date, depending on the lottery.

Want to know how buying works where you live? Our state pages cover each state.