It looks like a Mega Millions price change could be imminent.
At the La Fleur’s 2024 Raleigh Conference, Jay Finks, Executive Director of the Oklahoma Lottery, talked about the potential adjustments to the popular option among lottery draw games. He said:
“With the game change in April coming with Mega Millions, certainly, I think bigger jackpots are going to be something that will fuel it. But there’s a value proposition there that we hope that the jackpots can cover up but we’re going from a $2 or maybe a $3 purchase to a $5 purchase. So, there’s some risk there.”
This essentially confirms an upcoming price increase for Mega Millions. It appears the target date for the pricing change is April 2025.
Mega Millions price point change on the way
Based on Finks’ quote and various other sources, it looks like Mega Millions will jump in base price from $2 to $5, though that figure remains unconfirmed as of this writing.
Currently, a Mega Millions “line” or entry costs $2. For an extra $1 per line, players can add Megaplier, which multiplies non-jackpot winnings based on a multiplier ball.
PlayiLottery lead writer Drew Ellis recently spoke with a top lottery analyst to discuss the possible price increase. Tim Chartier, Professor of Mathematics and Computer Science at Davidson College, told Ellis that raising the price of Mega Millions will up jackpot amounts and likely increase excitement around the drawings.
The Mega Millions drawing begins with a $20 million prize and grows until it is won. In recent years, we have seen multiple jackpots exceeding $1 billion. A price hike could increase the frequency of such jackpots.
Could a new multistate lottery draw game be in the works?
Finks, who we quoted above, also spoke on the possibility of a new draw game that would run across numerous states. It would join Powerball and Mega Millions, but Finks discussed that a new game would need to be conscientious of jackpot fatigue.
Check back with PlayiLottery for more on any new multistate draw game developments.
Photo by Seth Wenig / AP
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