Mega Millions is an exciting multi-state lottery played every Tuesday and Friday evening across 45 states, plus Washington D.C. and U.S. Virgin Islands jurisdictions. For every ticket, a multiplier from 2x to 10x is applied at random, and all non-jackpot prizes are multiplied! Check our guide to learn more about the game, including the latest Mega Millions winning numbers, prizes, payouts, how to play, the biggest jackpot winners, history of the game, and more.
The Mega Millions jackpot is always guaranteed to be $50 million or more. There is no cap or rollover limit, meaning prizes can easily run into the hundreds of millions of dollars. The biggest ever Mega Millions jackpot was won in 2023 - an incredible $1.602 billion!
Besides the grand prize, Mega Millions has eight other prize tiers, ranging from $5 all the way up to $1 million. However, these are just the base prizes - the exact amount you win will actually be much higher! This is because of the multiplier attached to your ticket, which increases all non-jackpot prizes (by double, at least!).
The table below shows the odds of winning for each prize level, along with each level's base prize:
| Prize Tier | Odds of Winning | Prize Amount |
|---|---|---|
Match 5 plus Mega Ball |
1 in 290,472,336 | Jackpot |
Match 5 |
1 in 12,629,232 | $1,000,000 |
Match 4 plus Mega Ball |
1 in 893,761 | $10,000 |
Match 4 |
1 in 38,859 | $500 |
Match 3 plus Mega Ball |
1 in 13,965 | $200 |
Match 3 |
1 in 607 | $10 |
Match 2 plus Mega Ball |
1 in 665 | $10 |
Match 1 plus Mega Ball |
1 in 86 | $7 |
Match 0 plus Mega Ball |
1 in 35 | $5 |
Every ticket you purchase will come with a random multiplier printed on your ticket: either 2, 3, 4, 5, or 10 times. This multiplier applies to any prizes you win, except the jackpot. That means the minimum Mega Millions prize is $10. Although the lowest base prize is $5, one of those multipliers will be applied, so it ends up as $10 or more!
The Multiplier is included on every Mega Millions ticket at no extra cost, no matter which state you're in. See how your potential winnings can grow with multiplier prize examples.
The Multiplier replaced the original Megaplier option in April 2025. Previously, for an extra $1 per play, a Megaplier number (2x–5x) was randomly selected alongside the main draw, multiplying any non-jackpot prizes for participating players. Just to be clear, this is no longer the case.
The table above applies to all states & jurisdictions, with the exception of California. In CA, prizes are calculated on a pari-mutuel basis, meaning that payouts are determined by the number of tickets sold and the number of winning tickets. As a result, the prize values are different from one draw to the next, but the odds all stay the same.
Check out the table below to see how the base Mega Millions prizes are affected by the Multiplier:
| Number Matched | 2x Multiplier | 3x Multiplier | 4x Multiplier | 5x Multiplier | 10x Multiplier |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Match 5 | $2,000,000 | $3,000,000 | $4,000,000 | $5,000,000 | $10,000,000 |
| Match 4 + Mega Ball | $20,000 | $30,000 | $40,000 | $50,000 | $100,000 |
| Match 4 | $1,000 | $1,500 | $2,000 | $2,500 | $5,000 |
| Match 3 + Mega Ball | $400 | $600 | $800 | $1,000 | $2,000 |
| Match 3 | $20 | $30 | $40 | $50 | $100 |
| Match 2 + Mega Ball | $20 | $30 | $40 | $50 | $100 |
| Match 1 + Mega Ball | $14 | $21 | $28 | $35 | $70 |
| Match 0 + Mega Ball | $10 | $15 | $20 | $25 | $50 |
The odds of each multiplier being drawn are as follows:
| Multiplier | Odds of being drawn |
|---|---|
| 2x | 1 in 2.3 |
| 3x | 1 in 3.2 |
| 4x | 1 in 8 |
| 5x | 1 in 16 |
| 10x | 1 in 32 |
So you've matched enough numbers to land an awesome Mega Millions prize. What do you do now?
Prizes of up to $500 can generally be collected at retailers in the state in which the Mega Millions ticket was bought. If you win a larger prize, you should notify the relevant State Lottery, who will take you through the next steps. Online players will be notified of wins by email, and will be guided through the process of collecting prizes.
If you've won the jackpot, then you can choose a lump sum payment or an annuity. If you choose the annuity, you will receive one immediate payment and 29 annual payments after that. Each payment will be five percent larger than the last one in order to match the cost of living over time. If you choose the cash payment, you will receive a one-time payment equivalent to the cash in the jackpot prize pool.
Any winnings you receive from Mega Millions will be subject to federal income taxes, as well as any applicable state income taxes. Several of the participating states – Wyoming, Washington, Texas, South Dakota, and Florida – don't levy income taxes on their residents. Tennessee and New Hampshire only impose tax on income from dividends and interest.
If you've just matched all the numbers and are already looking at yachts and mansions, then it might be a good idea to do some math and see how much you have actually won, as the advertised jackpot does not account for state and federal taxes.
Select five main numbers between 1 and 70, plus a M Ball number between 1 and 24. Alternatively, get a Quick Pick for a random selection.
Choose Your Numbers
Make sure you don’t miss out on future draws. Use the playslip to specify how many consecutive drawings you want to play.
Set up Multiple Draws
Purchase tickets before the cut-off time (this varies state-to-state; check with the state lottery for ticket purchase cut-off times). Mega Millions costs $5 per play.
Buy Your Tickets
A random multiplier (either 2x, 3x, 4x, 5x, or 10x) will be attached to your ticket upon purchase. This signifies how much your prizes will be boosted by!
Multipler is Included
Once you have your Mega Millions tickets, simply wait for the drawing (these are held every Tuesday and Friday in Atlanta, Georgia at 11pm ET) and check the Winning Numbers page soon afterwards to find out if you are due a prize.
Try It Online
Ever since the big Mega Millions rebranding in 2010, there have been some incredible jackpots won by players from across the U.S. Below are the top 10 Mega Millions winners of all time.
If you want to be in with a chance of winning a multi-million dollar jackpot, pick your numbers for the next Mega Millions draw over on the Tickets page!
After having rolled over 31 times, a single ticket won the largest Mega Millions jackpot in the history of the game. It is also the third-largest jackpot ever offered by US lotteries. The winning ticket was sold in Florida at a Publix in Neptune Beach and it was claimed by Saltines Holdings, LLC who took the cash option of $794.2 million.
After 25 consecutive rollovers, this prize was won by one player from South Carolina, making it both the second biggest Mega Millions jackpot ever offered and the biggest lottery jackpot ever won by a single ticket holder anywhere in the world. The player did not come forward until March 2019 and opted to stay anonymous.
After three months of rolling, the third-largest Mega Millions jackpot was finally won on Friday January 13th by a single ticket holder in Maine. They claimed the money through the LaKoma Island Investments LLC, having purchased their entry from Hometown Gas & Grill in the town of Lebanon.
One of the biggest jackpots to have been seen on any lottery in the world was finally won by a player from Illinois, who bought their ticket at a Speedway gas station in Des Plaines, just north of Chicago. The grand prize had been building since mid-April – a sequence of 29 consecutive drawings. It was later confirmed that the jackpot was claimed by a duo, who had an agreement to split the money if they won.
Mega Millions went on a huge run through the festive period in 2024, culminating in two draws with billion-dollar jackpots! It was a single winner from California who took home the prize, which was the biggest Mega Millions win in the state by quite a stretch! Rosemary Casarotti was later named as the winner.
The jackpot powered past $1 billion again in the spring of 2024, before it was snapped up by a single ticket holder from New Jersey. It was the Garden State’s 25th – and biggest – Mega Millions jackpot win. The draw also created 13 other millionaires.
This winning ticket, purchased at a Kroger store in the Detroit suburb of Novi in Michigan, belonged to a four-member lottery club from Oakland County known as the Wolverine FLL Club. It was the biggest win ever seen in Michigan and was not claimed for two months. The winners said they planned to stay humble and help generations to come, as well as support local charities.
A single ticket from Texas matched all the numbers, ending a run of draws without a winners stretching back to the start of June. The winning ticket was sold at the Murphy’s Express gas station on Highway 90A in Sugar Land. The money was claimed by the Sol Living Trust.
This summer jackpot was finally snapped up after more than four months without a winner, giving Florida another big Mega Millions win after the Sunshine State’s record-breaking exploits in 2023. The cash value this time was $344.2 million. The winning ticket was bought at a Wawa store in Bradenton, near Sarasota and Lakewood Ranch.
Three winning tickets shared a top prize worth a whopping $656 million on March 30th 2012. The prize was split between Merle and Patricia Butler of Red Bud, Illinois, 'the Three Amigos' – a group of three education workers in Maryland – and an anonymous ticket holder from Kansas.
Mega Millions is one of the biggest lotteries in the United States, with jackpots often running into the hundreds of millions of dollars. Read on to find out where Mega Millions started, and how it has turned into one of the most exciting lotteries in the world.
Results provided by kind permission of Mega-Millions.com
Mega Millions has a jackpot starting at $50,000,000 ($50 million), and the jackpot is currently at $261000000.0000.
Yes, if multiple players win the Mega Millions jackpot, then the value will be split evenly between the winning tickets.
The largest Mega Millions jackpot so far reached a value of $1.602 billion ($1,602,000,000) before it was finally won in 2023.
The Megaplier add-on was removed in April, 2025. Instead of a multiplier being drawn, each ticket now comes with a random multiplier attached by default.
The time-limit for claiming Mega Millions prizes depends on which state you've played in, as each State Lottery sets their own limits. These can be from 90 days to a year, so make sure you claim any prizes won in good time!
Ticket purchases can be still be made up until 15 minutes to an hour before the Mega Millions draw takes place at 11:00 pm Eastern Time, Tuesdays and Fridays.
The game first appeared in 1996, though back then it was called The Big Game and only six states took part. The Mega Millions name arrived in 2002, and additional states have signed on steadily ever since.
Prizes are awarded for matching the numbers on your ticket against the numbers pulled in the drawing — the more you match, the more you win. Nine different prize levels are available in total, and the smallest of them pays out for hitting nothing more than the Mega Ball. The top prize requires all five main numbers plus the Mega Ball.
No. You would need to travel to a state or jurisdiction where Mega Millions is sold in order to buy a ticket.
You do. Jackpot prizes are taxed at both the federal and state level, and the state portion isn't the same everywhere.
No, neither. The top prize keeps growing draw after draw until somebody matches all five main numbers together with the Mega Ball.
Currently 45 states take part, alongside two jurisdictions: Washington D.C. and the U.S. Virgin Islands.
Jackpot winners choose between a single lump-sum cash payment and an annuity paid out over time.
The next drawing carries an estimated jackpot of $261 Million.
Powerball currently offers the bigger jackpot of the two, sitting at $313 Million compared to Mega Millions' $261 Million
The chart below shows the value of the Mega Millions jackpot over the past six months. The Jackpot Fund Breakdown also shows the percentage increase or decrease by draw, for both the cash and annuity amounts.
