(WWJ) — The cost of a Mega Millions lottery ticket will more than double in the spring of 2025.
Lottery officials on Monday announced tickets will jump from $2 to $5, starting in April, as the Lottery rolls out a “mega” overhaul that will make the game “bigger and better than ever.”
The price increase will be one of several changes to the Mega Millions that officials say will lead to improved jackpot odds, more frequent giant prizes and even larger payouts. The lottery says jackpots will start larger and grow faster.
Joshua Johnston, Lead Director of the Mega Millions Consortium, per a press release, said the move is expected to lead to more billion-dollar jackpots, meaning “creating more billionaires and many more millionaires as the jackpots climb.”
“Plus this game will continue the important legacy of supporting great causes everywhere Mega Millions is played,” Johnston said.
Officials say there will be a “built-in multiplier on every play, improving every non-jackpot win by 2X, 3X, 4X, 5X or 10X — up to $10 million for matching all five white balls.
The new system will not include breakeven prizes, meaning when a player wins, the prize will always be more than the cost of the ticket.
The jump to $5 per ticket is only the game’s second price adjustment since the game launched more than 20 years ago and the first change since the current format of the game was adopted in 2017.
Lottery officials are expected to announce more specifics about the changes in the coming months.