Mega Millions Set for Major Changes in April 2025
Wednesday August 14th 2024Mega Millions is set for a major update in April 2025, with several changes coming in that will boost the odds of winning and create bigger prizes.
What is Changing?
The Mega Millions format will remain largely the same, with just one minor tweak to the matrix set to be made. This will see the ball pool for the Mega Balls reduced from 25 in 24.
As you still have to pick five main numbers (from 1 to 70) and one Mega Ball, your chances of winning the jackpot will get better. All the other prize tiers are staying the same, with payouts increasing in the eighth and ninth levels.
The optional Megaplier will be replaced by an automatic multiplier feature. If you win a non-jackpot prize, it will be increased by 2, 3, 4, 5 or 10 times its base amount. Currently, the maximum multiplier is 5X, so this change makes it possible to win up to $10 million without even matching all the numbers. Just the Jackpot, an option available in some states, will also be removed.
The starting jackpot - currently set at $20 million - will also increase. The entry fee is set to go up to $5 per play, which will pay for the changes that are to be made and also help to drive up jackpots more quickly, as a large portion of the revenue made from ticket sales goes towards the top prize.
Here’s how the new prize table will look:
| Prize Tier | Odds of Winning | Prize Amount |
|---|---|---|
| Match 5 + Mega Ball | 1 in 290,472,336 | Jackpot |
| Match 5 | 1 in 12,629,232 | $1,000,000 |
| Match 4 + Mega Ball | 1 in 893,761 | $10,000 |
| Match 4 | 1 in 38,859 | $500 |
| Match 3 + Mega Ball | 1 in 13,965 | $200 |
| Match 3 | 1 in 607 | $10 |
| Match 2 + Mega Ball | 1 in 665 | $10 |
| Match 1 + Mega Ball | 1 in 86 | $7 |
| Match 0 + Mega Ball | 1 in 35 | $5 |
| Overall odds of winning a Mega Millions prize are 1 in 23 | ||
The following table tells you more about how the new multiplier feature will work. The possible multiplier values will be entered into a separate draw, with different frequencies of each, and one will be selected at random. All non-jackpot payouts will be increased by that amount. In total, there will be 32 balls in the multiplier draw.
| Multiplier | Frequency | Odds of being drawn |
|---|---|---|
| 10x | 1 | 1 in 32 |
| 5x | 2 | 1 in 16 |
| 4x | 4 | 1 in 8 |
| 3x | 10 | 1 in 3.2 |
| 2x | 15 | 1 in 2.13 |
When is it Happening?
The changes are set to be introduced on April 5, 2025, ahead of the drawing three days later on April 8. It will be the first major update to the multi-state lottery since October 2017, when the ball pools were adjusted as part of an overhaul of the game. This has resulted in a number of billion-dollar jackpots over the past few years.
*Full details of all the changes to be made have yet to be confirmed, with more information set to be revealed before April 2025.
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