How to Play US Mega Millions
To play Mega Millions and have a chance at winning:
- Choose 5 numbers from a pool of 70
- Pick 1 Mega Ball in the range from 1 to 25
To win the jackpot, you need to match the 5 Mega Millions numbers and the Mega Ball for the particular draw. The minimum guaranteed jackpot is 40 million, and it grows by a minimum of 5 million dollars each time the jackpot rolls.
To find out how to use the Megaplier option, proceed to the next section.
To win any of the US Mega Millions secondary prizes, check the prize breakdown below.
US Mega Millions - Prize Breakdown
The winning combinations and the prize amounts for US Mega Millions include the following:
| Numbers Matched | Prize |
| 5 + Bonus Ball | Jackpot |
| 5 | 1,000,000 |
| 4 + Bonus Ball | $10,000 |
| 4 | $500 |
| 3 + Bonus Ball | $200 |
| 3 | $10 |
| 2 + Bonus Ball | $10 |
| 1 + Bonus Ball | $4 |
| Bonus Ball Only | $2 |
People that earn the jackpot can choose a lump sum payment (minus taxes) or annual payments for 29 years. Each next payment will be 5% bigger than the previous one.
The 2nd prize is one million dollars paid in cash only.
You win by matching at least 3 numbers. Any time you match the Mega Ball number, you win a prize.
All prizes must be claimed within 180 days of the draw date.
If there is no jackpot winner, the jackpot rolls over to the next Mega Ball draw.
What Is Megaplier and How It Could Help You?
Megaplier is an optional feature that can increase non-jackpot prizes by 2, 3, 4, or 5 times.
Every Tuesday and Friday, there is a Megaplier drawing that precedes the Mega Millions drawing. Five of the balls in a pool of fifteen are marked with 2X, six with 3X, three with 4X, and one with 5X.
Megaplier doesn't affect the size of the Mega Millions jackpot or your chances of winning the jackpot if you select it as an option.
The Megaplier chosen for the draw determines the size of the non-jackpot prizes, as you can see in the following table:
| Numbers Matched | Prize | 2X | 3X | 4X | 5X |
| 5 + Bonus Ball | Jackpot | Jackpot | Jackpot | Jackpot | Jackpot |
| 5 | 1,000,000 | $2,000,000 | $3,000,000 | $4,000,000 | $5,000,000 |
| 4 + Bonus Ball | $10,000 | $20,000 | $30,000 | $40,000 | $50,000 |
| 4 | $500 | $1,000 | $1,500 | $2,000 | $2,500 |
| 3 + Bonus Ball | $200 | $400 | $600 | $800 | $1,000 |
| 3 | $10 | $20 | $30 | $40 | $50 |
| 2 + Bonus Ball | $10 | $20 | $30 | $40 | $50 |
| 1 + Bonus Ball | $4 | $8 | $12 | $16 | $20 |
| Bonus Ball Only | $2 | $4 | $6 | $8 | $10 |
As an example, if you match the five main numbers in the draw, you are usually awarded a second-tier prize of one million dollars. If you played the Megaplier and selected the 3X, then you would receive $3,000,000 as your Match 5 prize.
Interesting Facts about the US Mega Millions
1. Originally, Mega Millions carried another name – the Big Game. It was launched back in 1996, and the name change occurred in 2002.
2. The biggest Mega Millions jackpot currently is $1.55 billion. It was won by one ticket on August 8, 2023. The luckiest Mega Millions ticket ever was sold in Florida.
3. The second-largest jackpot is $1.53 billion dollars which was won on October 23, 2018, by a single ticket in South Carolina.
4. The first Mega Millions drawing took place on May 17, 2002, and a jackpot of $28 million was won by a ticket purchased in Illinois. The winning numbers were 15-18-25-33-47 and the Mega Ball was 30.
5. As surprising as it may seem, approximately one billion dollars in Mega Million earnings have never been claimed. Even an individual ticket that won 99 million dollars has remained unclaimed.
6. On Tuesday, 31 October 2017, the Mega Millions game changed its rules. The ticket cost doubled, jackpots became bigger, and the odds of winning the 2nd tier prize of $1 million became better.
