Mega Millions 2025 Updates Have Officially Arrived
Monday April 7th 2025Back in the summer of 2024, Mega Millions announced that major changes were coming to the iconic game, and on April 5, 2025 the changes officially came into effect! All eyes are now on Tuesday where the first draw with these new changes will take place.
There’s a lot you should know before the upcoming draw. With higher jackpots, an updated number pool, and a multiplier that will automatically boost your prizes, read on to find out what you can expect from these Mega Millions changes!
Bigger Jackpot Prizes
One of the most exciting changes is that the Mega Millions jackpot will now start at a minimum of $50 million, instead of $20 million. There is still no limit to how high the top prize can rise which means that we may be seeing jackpots rise into the billions quicker than ever before! So far, we have had six Mega Millions winners achieve a $1 billion jackpot (or higher) so prepare yourself for more on the horizon.
Other Major Changes
The addition of the multiplier, which replaces the Megaplier, automatically boosts all non-jackpot prizes you’ll win. When purchasing your ticket you’ll receive a random multiplier - either 2X, 3X, 4X, 5X or 10X - which indicates how much your base prize is multiplied by. Your multiplier will be different to another player entering the draw, so no two prizes are the same!
Lead director of the Mega Millions Consortium, Joshua Johnston, commented on this saying “beyond big jackpots players told us they want bigger non-jackpot prizes and that’s exactly what this new game delivers”.
The number pool for the Mega Ball has now been reduced from 25 to 24, which massively increases your chances of winning a prize. You now have 1 in 23.07 odds of winning any prize and the odds of winning the jackpot have increased to 1 in 290.5 million. Go to our odds and prizes section to find all the updated odds! The ‘Just the Jackpot’ option, available in certain states, has also officially been retired.
Price Change
To complement these changes the price of a Mega Millions ticket has increased from $2 to $5, but that includes the multiplier which is automatically added to your ticket. These changes will lead to faster-growing prizes as the lottery expects the average jackpot will be more than $800 million, almost double the current average.
The addition of the multiplier also means there are no more ‘breakeven prizes’ - even the lowest amount you can win will be more than the price you paid for a ticket, potentially even 10X more!
The CEO of Jackpot.com, Akshay Khanna, which allows players to purchase Mega Millions tickets online in certain states, spoke about this price increase, stating:
“While some customers may initially be surprised, we believe they’ll come to recognize the added benefits that this price increase enables”.
“This vastly differs from something like a subway fare hike where you’re paying more for the same ride,” he added. “With this Mega Millions price increase, players are receiving improved odds alongside larger and faster-growing jackpots.”
“The larger starting jackpots should attract more players,” he said, “ultimately increasing the prize amount at a faster rate to keep them engaged.”
If you want to take part in the first ever MegaMillions draw with the new rules, you can purchase tickets online where the lottery courier, Jackpot.com, will be able to make your lottery playing quick and accessible.
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