(WWJ) The cost of a Mega Millions lottery ticket will more than double, beginning next week.
Lottery officials say tickets will jump from $2 to $5, starting in April, 2025, 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.
Previously, in some states (including Michigan), a multiplier, known as a "Megaplier," was available for an extra dollar add-on.
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.